Slayers Silver Lord
by seeker71
Summary: Set in the Slayers future, Lina makes a horrific discovery, and has to change the world. But how? Feed back appreciated...
1. aChapter1

To say that Lina Inverse was in a state of shock would have been to put it very mildly. Since her great, and horrifying, discovery, she had curled up into her armchair and spent the past many hours, or was it days, in pure terror. It was a wonder she hadn't shaken the chair to pieces, so violent was the shivering. Over and over in her mind she kept replaying the events that brought the truth home to her.

It really had its roots in Lina's past. She had shown a propensity for magic at a young age, and also was highly motivated by the fact that her older sister, Luna, had been revealed to be one of only five Knights of Ceiphied in the world. Lina was bound and determined not to be left behind. She had busted her butt studying, and had, by the tender age of thirteen, made herself just about the most powerful sorceress anyone had ever seen. This had lead to all sorts of unexpected madness in her life, everything from upsetting her big sister to the point where she even took a stick to Lina and showed the younger girl why it was not wise to make a foe of a magical knight, to Lina leaving home at age thirteen to make her own way in the world. It had even influenced her choice of companions, or, in some cases, lack of choice. And of course, it had culminated in her teenage years with the important defeats she dealt to several important overlords of the evil race of beings known as mazoku.

And yet, now it seemed the mazoku had won. That too had its roots in the past, when Lina had, in her wandering years, encountered a mazoku named Xellos, who was both general and priest to an important mazoku overlord named the Beastmaster, also called by the name Zellas-Metallium. To say Lina was friends with Xellos would have been wrong, but perhaps it could be said they had an "understanding" of sorts, they could use each other as long as it was mutually benificial, otherwise Lina would make trouble. Big trouble. And now big trouble had been made for Lina.

It had started simply enough, Lina was at work in her underground laboratory. She had had had enough of the close calls in her youth and by her early twenties she had realised that she had had some very narrow escapes based strictly on luck, nothing more. This wasn't good enough for her, she had wanted to be even stronger, more powerful, more able to defend herself at a moment's notice. After all, you didn't bring about the ruin of mazoku lords, and many evil men, as she had done, without making enemies. In the end it was perhaps fear, not outright cowardice as such, but a nagging doubt about how long her luck might really last, that drove her to settle down and study her arts more intently. To this end she had done what many magicians before her had done, she dug a big complex underground in a secluded part of the country and settled down to do some really serious experimenting. In this case the country she chose was Elemikia, but it was the rocky hills she hid in that had appealed to her, not the geopolitics of where they were located.

At first it had been good, Gourry had helped so well, his big muscles and broad shoulders seemed to never tire with all the digging and work that was needed to build the lab to Lina's needs. But alas, Gourry had had needs too, and Lina hadn't seen them. One day he had asked her to marry him. Lina was so intent on what she was doing she didn't think before replying that there was work to do. This had been the falling stone that turned into an avalanche and eventually, some time later, lead to the big fight she had had with Gourry. The yelling and screaming reached an intensity that not even Lina had realised she could reach, and it had ended with a bang, litterally, as she had hit Gourry with an especially powerful fireball then screamed at him that if he couldn't understand her needs then he was a useless guardian to her and he should get out. Afterwards, she had never forgotten the look that had come over Gourry's face. They had been through so much together, and he had really taken a lot of abuse from Lina without complaining, but this was a stab to his very soul. It was as if something very fragile and very beautiful deep inside had suddenly shattered. Without a word he had done just what Lina had said, and left. She had never seen him again.

Lina had thought he'd come back at first, then she wanted to go look for him, but they had come so far, she couldn't leave until the building was done enough for her to feel satisifed with it. And she persuaded herself they both needed time to cool off as well. So, the delay was a long one and though she did look for Gourry it had ended in a cold trail. Lina had made her way home afterwards, feeling hollow. She knew she had cared for him, but in all truth, she hadn't realised how much she had really cared for that, that, "jellyfish!" until it was too late, of course. To distract herself from the pain and guilt she had thrown herself into her work, and as a result began to make many important discoveries and become even more powerful. She also became so absorbed in her work she became a recluse and paid little mind to the outside world. And so time had passed.

Then had come the fateful day, shortly after her fourty fourth birthday. Xellos had been her steadiest visitor, and even he had only dropped by from time to time, her old friends seemed to have lost all touch with her. By now Lina was truly a force to be reconned with, magically speaking, and was on her way to becoming perhaps the sixth great sage, possibly the successor to Rezo himself! Though without his evil. One day, she was deep in study of a new and complicated design of a magic circle when Xellos appeared before her. Unlike his other visits he was in what could be described as a mazoku equivalent to a panic, and had immediately thrown himself on the ground in supplication before Lina. After Lina had overcome her surprise at this, Xellos had never, so far as she knew, begged for help from anyone before in all the long eons of his life, she asked what was going on. "They are going to kill each other I know it! This time it's really going to happen!" "Calm down!" replied Lina, a bit sharply. "Explain what you mean."

Xellos took a deep breath, a dramatic enough gesture considering that mazoku didn't actually need to breath, and said "Since their creation, the Lady Deep Sea Dolphin, and my Mistress, my Mother, and my Goddess, Beastmaster Zellas-metallium, have had an intense feud about which one was more powerful and where the boundaries of their various realms should lie. My Mistress did pull Wolf Pack Island up out of the sea against Lady Dolphin's wishes, and it has been a sore point between them ever since. Oh sure they've had their civil moments too, but every now and again they blow up at each other and have a set-to battle and go at it like, like, sisters, and I know you know what I mean Lina." Lina nodded nervously, even after all these decades she still was fearful of her big sister. "This time, things have gotten more intense than I have ever seen, and Lady Dolphin is winning. Bad enough, but she is attacking my Mistress so strongly I believe she means to kill her. Please Lina, I can't lose my mother without trying to help, but I'm not able to do anything against Lady Dolphin! Please, I don't know where else to go. Help me! You are that stong!"

Lina was stunned. She knew the mazoku lords didn't, as a rule, get along that well with each other, and she knew it was possible for them to kill each other, after all she had personally witnessed when Hellmaster Phibrizzo had murdered Demon Dragon King Gaav. But she didn't realise what an effect it had on their underlings. Xellos had never begged before, for anything, at least not where he had really meant it. Lina shook her head. If she did nothing the world would be less one more mazoku overlord, which was good, wasn't it? But the winner would be all the more powerful and arrogant for that, and that didn't bode well either. Finally she decided. "Okay Xellos, something tells me I shouldn't, but for you I will attempt to make them stop fighting each other to the death. This once, and this once only, got that?" Xellos nodded, and with a sudden move grabbed Lina into a slight embrace and transported her to Wolf Pack Island!

After they arrived Lina bopped him on the head and said "Warn me next time!" Suddenly a loud scream of rage, followed by several hard explosions interupted her. As she picked herself up from the ground she turned to Xellos and said "You want me to stop that? Are you crazy? No, I must be for agreeing to help in the first place!" With that she Ray winged herself into the air and flew towards the battle. On the ground she could see a large armour wearing bipedal wolf. It was obviously wounded and in pain. It was backed up against a rock wall, obviously trying to defend itself against the indescribable horror of what Lina assumed had to be some sort of sea creature it was facing. Lina understood quickly enough. These were the battle forms of Beastmaster and Dolphin respectively. The creatures were screaming at each other as Dolphin prepared to strike at Beastmaster again. Suddenly Xellos appeared in between them. "Where the hell have you been?" snarled the wolf. "Ha, two with one shot! I shall end this now!" yelled the other monster. "I got help..." said Xellos simply.

"Help?" asked a perplex Beastmaster. "Ehh?" asked Dolphin, pausing for a second. Her answer came immediately as a human woman, from somewhere in the sky yelled out "Instant Dragon Slave!". Dolphin had only enough time to look up in shock before the pink ball of energy slammed into her and detonated. The monster tried to squirm and run, but Lina's power had increased with age, as had her control and accuracy. She tossed dragon slaves at the sea creature like she used to toss fireballs at bandits, and with the same deadly accuracy. Soon Dolphin was on the defence and made a run for the sea. Lina placed herself between the mazoku lord and safety. The creature stopped, fear and anger obvious in it's voice.

"What do you want, you human bitch? Let me go! This isn't your fight!" Lina replied "I didn't quite hear that Deep Sea Dolphin. I hope for your sake that that word started with a "w". You can go after I've talked to you. Now take your human form." "You heard me well enough Lina Inverse! Who do you think you are, using my father's power against me? And you dare to order me around? I don't think so!" With that Dolphin began to summon her power into a massive strike of her own and an immense watery wall sprang up around her as if it would become a tsunami and engulf the sorceress. But Lina was ready, and quickly chanted her own spell. An immense, raged, blade of black energy sprang into her hands, then, with a quick focus of her mind she moulded it into a more practical blade shape. Ah, to have been able to do THAT in her youth... "Look at me Dolphin." she ordered. "You don't want me using your father's magic against you? Fine, This is the power of our Mother, Dolphin, this is the Raguna Blade, the Giga Slave controlled! You still want to attack me, do you?"

The wall of water quivered and with a shriek of despaire it collapsed as Deep Sea Dolphin gave up her attack. The monster glowed with a bluish light and suddenly it transformed into a tall, thin woman in a full length blue dress. She actually looked pretty, with her long blue-black hair done up at each side of her head into a round knot from which a long free tail of hair hung down. But there was nothing beautiful about the look on her face. Hatred, and naked fear. Lina knew she had made yet another enemy. "This is my business with the Beastmaster, Lina Inverse. How dare you interfere!" she hisses at the sorceress. "Nothing personal Lady Dolphin, and really, I mean that, it's just I sort of owed Xellos a favour, sorry. Anyway, I'm not here to end your dispute, only your fight."

Dolphin turned away from Lina and faced Xellos, who cowered into the injured Beastmaster he had been helping. "Xellos" said Dolphin very quietly, and very, very dangerously. "There will come a day, Xellos, and I will remember this..." She then turned her glare at Beastmaster. "It seems you have strange friends in strange places, Zellas-metallium. Very well, I cannot defeat the Raguna blade anymore than you can. But this is only put off till later." She turned back to Lina. "Later means when you are dead, you interfereing little girl. When you are dead, and I can teach you the true meaning of fear!" "Dolphin! NO!" shouted Beastmaster in horror. "I will say no more, let the, the, witch figure it out herself! Now LET ME GO!" she ended in a shriek of pure malice at Lina. "No more fighting?" asked Lina, who was disturbed by what Deep Sea Dolphin had said, but she would not show it, not to Dolphin. "I will not fight Beastmaster again, not for now at any rate." replied Dolphin. "And that's all the promise you are getting!" Lina sighed. "I guess I'll take it." she said and stepped aside, blade ready against any last second treachery from Dolphin. But the Mazoku lord did nothing except walk into the sea and keep going, steam rising from the water as she entered.

Lina had naturally gone over to Beastmaster Zellas-metallium after this. The wolf like creature stared at Lina and Lina could see that, disturbingly, the right eye was white as snow, blank with no pupil, and the left eye was black as night, again with no pupil. "One holy and one evil eye, eh? I don't mind admitting I wouldn't want to meet you alone Zellas." she said. "I'll take that as a complement, for my sake...' replied the wolf with a low growl. Then the wolf began to glow with a faint golden glow and Beastmaster moulded herself into her human form, a tall, slender yet curvey blond with long legs and piercing blue eyes, dressed in a rather revealing blouse and skirt, and, of all things, holding a long slender cigarette holder, complete with lit cigarette! She looked at Lina with a mix of hate and fear, and, could it be gratitued on her face? "I suppose this makes me beholden to you somehow, Lina Inverse. I don't like that, but I do appreciate still being alive. So I thank you for your help. How may I reward you?" she said. Lina paused for a minute then said "There are many things I can think of, but for some reason my spirit itself is screaming that I need to understand Lady Dolphin's last remark, the one you tried to stop her from making." Beastmaster was silent for a minute "I suspected this would be your question Lina Inverse." she said finally. "It's a secret." "Well, now I know where Xellos gets it from." replied Lina as Zellas-metallium replied with the famous phrase that Xellos had often used on Lina.

"I always wondered if you weren't a momma's boy at heart, Xelly-poo" Lina said to the trickster priest. Xellos gave a pained smile and replied "Oh well, as for that, as long as it isn't a piece of garbage I suppose..." "No" responded Lina, "I'm not Filia. Oh well, but I do want an explanation, Beastmaster." "I can't give it." the Mazoku overlord replied. She then did something unusual, and dropped her eyes and said "I'm sorry..." Lina sighed and said "Very well, just take me home Xellos, please." Zellas spoke to her priest "Hurry back Xellos, that's an order." "Yes Mistress!" the trickster priest said with a low bow. "Lina, may I?" he asked as he came up to embrace her again. Lina nodded, and suddenly she was back in her room. As they materialised Xellos grabbed her and pulled her ear close to her mouth. "Listen!" he whispered urgently. "I have no time, but you deserve an answer. They will kill me if they find out I have said anything Lina, but the truth is, it has something to do with the words of the magic spells people use and what they mean, and the fact the Mazoku don't give something for nothing! Now I have to go!" With that he disappeared, leaving Lina very confused. "Oh well, another puzzle." she thought.

Lina waved her hands and her golem servants, inanimate objects given the power of acting life like by magic, prepared her a large meal, and brought her a tall glass of her favourite wine. She summoned her reading table and bade it bring her her dictionary. She was going to puzzle this out. For a long time she sat there reading and thinking over all that had been said. Finally she fell asleep, and in her sleep she began to dream. In her dream she kept casting the dragon slave over and over again, and every time she fired the shot off Xellos would yell "The mazoku don't give something for nothing!" As this went on and on her frusrtration grew, what was she missing? Finally, she paid attention to the words, like Xellos had said. "Thou who art darker than twilight, more crimson than the blood which flows, buried in the sands of time is where thy power grows!" Okay so far that was a poetic reference to the great lord of the mazoku, Ruby eyed Shabradnigdo himself. She went on "I pledge myself to darkness, give into my unworthy hand thy power that together we may slay the fools that stand against us." Even in her sleep Lina had to take a few more runs at this, but finally in her sleep she started to explain it to herself. The darkness is Shabradnigdo and what you want when you chant the spell is his power to attack your enemies with. And you ask and he gives, but Xellos said the mazoku don't give anything for free. So, what am I giving to the mazoku for the power?" Once more it took another few runs in the dream to get it, but finally Lina asked the question again, but instead of asking "What am I giving to the mazoku?" she said "What am I promising to the mazoku?" There was a flash, a connection was made, and Lina sat bolt upright awake, in panic. "No, no, no!" she begged of the silence. She turned to the dictionary, black fear itself pulling her both in the direction to look and not to look, but her need to know won out. She looked up the word promise, and there, embeded in the definition was the phrase "to pledge..."

Her screams of fear and terror rent the very air itself. "MYSELF!" she screamed over and over again. "I PLEDGE MYSELF!" For that indeed was what the spell had said, Lina promised herself to the dark lord in exchange for some power. And Dolphin's words "when you are dead, and I can teach you the true meaning of fear..." put the final piece in place. In death, humans crossed over into the astral plain, and the mazoku were masters of the astral energy. The mazoku waited for anyone who promised themselves to the mazoku with the magic spells, which were most human beings, and when you died, they collected on that debt. The meaning was now clear. Lina Inverse was, by her own promises, along with anyone else who used dark magic, going to go to hell.

After a long time it occured to Lina that she would die sooner than later if she stayed in the chair, so finally, she willed herself to get up. She couldn't stop crying, but she knew what she had to do. No more magic, and whatever time was left her was to be spent looking for a way to anull her pledges. She used her magic one last time and had her golems gather anything and everything into a pile in the house, even rare objects and bulky machines that had to be brought up below. Nothing was to be left that might survive. Finally all was gathered to her satisfaction. She released the magic and the golems fell silent. She took off her magical power amplifiers and threw them on the pile. She gathered some clothes, and some food and money for a trip, and went outside. Continuing to use her power one last time she flew into the air and when she was high enough, she gulped and bravely chanted the dragon slave one last time. There was an immense explosion, and when it was over all that was left of her house, and her lab, was a large smoking crater. She carefully scanned the area but could find no obvious surviving magical artifacts. She landed and fell to the earth weeping. All that time from her life, all that money, all she had done, wasted. No friends, no love, no life, all for naught, and now all gone. Finally she got up on her feet and, with one last look at the hole she said "I pledge myself to never use magic again, and to spend the rest of my time on earth looking for a way to release everyone from the pledge!" With that she turned away from the past, and, still half blinded by tears stumbled away to her new life. 


	2. bChapter2

For a long time Lina just walked, she had no goal in mind that she was going to, she just had to get away... And as she walked the fresh air, sunshine, and exercise slowly worked their own form of magic and she, well, she didn't feel better, but her emotions stablized again and she was able to get on with life. She came to a small village a few evenings later and checked in for the night. It had been a long time since she had eaten well, and she made up for lost time to the astonishment of the rest of the patrons. When she was full she retired to her room and spent a long time assessing herself. Everything was different, changed by the passing of time, yet until now she hadn't noticed it at all. Her hair was still red, but now it was shot through with grey and limper than she had remembered it being in her youth. Her red eyes were still bright and clear, but there were wrinkles on her face. She couldn't remember how they had gotten there. And she was tired, like she hadn't been before. Well, of course the emotional shock was a great part of that, but so was age, and too much time studying, not enough time in physical work. Her body seemed as tight as ever, well, no babies for one thing. "Oh Gourry, what a fool I am. We should have worked our own magic and made babies..." she whispered.

Finally she went to bed, and surprisingly she slept well, no terrors or nightmares awaited her. In the morning she got up and had a long and leisurely breakfast, and spent the time in thought. What was she to do? After awhile it came to her she had to tell the world, but the question was how? Of course she could speak up but she would likely be taken for a wandering crackpot if she didn't plan it right and have help. Who could she get? The answer lept out at her. Amilia! Crown Princess of Seirune! Or wait, had she heard Phil had died some years ago? If so then Amilia was a Queen! Wow. And one bit of news Lina had heard, she had married Zelgadiss Greywords, her true love. Apparently it had been easy for Amilia to overlook the fact he was a chimera, and Lina had to admit that he was certainly an attractive man despite, or maybe because of, his blue skin, and the cute stones that were embedded in his body. Yeah, Lina, as a young woman knew what Amilia had seen in Zel. Truth was, Lina might have been a rival, but she was with Gourry when she met Zel and it was never something she wanted to pursue. Sigh...

So the plan was set. Lina set off in the morning and hit the open road towards Seirune. Along the way she kept mostly to herself, she prefered it that way as she would sometimes break down and cry again as emotions welled up, still resonating from her shock, but time and a sense of purpose healed all wounds to the point she could carry on. She also relearned the art of taking time to smell the flowers and remembered how sweet life really could be. How had she let things come to this? Well, now that magic was out of the question, she was going to make up for a lot of lost time. So, even though it was tiring, Lina kept on walking towards Seirune, and as she did so she started to heal and feel stronger. It was perhaps fortunate for her that she did, for there came the terrible night she was beset by the robbers.

She had grown weary and perhaps less wary, and had ended up falling asleep in the woods beside her little fire. She hadn't meant to doze off, but she did, until a rough boot awakened her. She sprang awake instantly, but it had been a long time since anyone had treated her so ill and she went off half cocked, letting into the theives with a verbal tirade that might have made lesser men blush. The men, all young and big and strong had laughed at her. One of them even asked if she thought she was that myth his father had been scared of, the bandit killer named Dragon Spooker. That brought Lina up short. In days gone by she'd have let them know why Dragons were spooked, but now she realised that without her magic she was just a tiny out of shape older woman faced down by a bunch of thugs with no one around to hear her scream. And she did, with fear, but not for the theives, rather at how close she had come to using her power, and all that entailed. Still, the bandits were appeased. The leader laughed and helped himself to her money and said she was lucky she was so old, or she'd have found out the price a young woman would pay for being so mouthy to a man. As it was, all she would lose was her cash...

Lina had shivered the rest of the night. So close to forgetting her pledge... Fortunately she had had a bit of spare cash hidden, and by careful use she was able to eek out funds for the trip. She also remembered she had packed her sword, which she had practiced with daily so as not to lose all her ability to defend herself without magic, but she realised that it was lucky it hadn't been to hand when the robbers had come, Ceified only knew what might have happened if she had drawn it. And as she walked Lina began to pray too, asking both Ceified and even the Lord of Nightmares herself for any encouragement or help they might be able to send to her. Not surprisingly there were no instant replies, no messages in the stars or angels decending to her side, but it felt better somehow to talk to someone, even if it was, well, god. And who knew, it wouldn't do any harm, right? Still, for the length of the trip there was no reply.

Finally came the day Lina crossed the boarder into Seirune. It had been so long since she had crossed the boarder anywhere that she had forgotten what the formalities were. It was a bit sticky, the guard didn't seem to want to believe she was going to see her old friend Amilia who was a shrine maiden in Seirune city. Something had told Lina that if she had said she was going to see her old friend Queen Amilia they'd have turned her back on the spot, or worse. Still it was a near enough thing as it was. She began to weep in frustration, there were many disadvantages to being non magical after all. One of the guards, misinterpreting her tears asked her why she was traveling alone. Lina replied evasively that she had lost everything in her life and simply wanted to see her friend, it was all she had left. The guard became more sympathetic and asked where her man was. "Gone." was the reply. "Children?" asked the guard, making the mistake that Lina was in the nintey plus percent of women her age that were married and had families. Lina, beginging to clue in, just shook her head. "Your house?" asked the guard again. "Gone, burned to the ground, along with everything in my life except what I have here..." she sobbed. The guard got the picture, here was a poor woman recently widowed and deprived of all that made her life worth living by a great tragedy. Well, he was almost right. He sighed. "I don't know why lady, but I believe you. Go ahead, go find your friend and may she be a comfort to you." he said in a kindly voice as he let her through the gates. Lina sobbed a thank you and went through.

It took a while for Lina to stop sobbing, she hadn't wanted to lie to the guard, but the bandits had clued her in to the fact that the name Lina Inverse meant nothing any more. She had been away for too long it seemed. Well, one thing, in Seirune the roads were just as long, but they were better patrolled, and safer. No more robbers. So one day, tired, hungry, and pennyless, Lina Inverse made it to Seirune City, the grand capital of the kingdom. A long time ago she could have given her name and walked up to the castle and gaind entry, now she found herself begging the captain of the guard for permission to ask for an audience with the Queen. "The Queen?" said the captain. "What business does a worn out commoner such as you have with her majesty? Be gone." Lina shook her head. "Listen, I can't really tell you why I need to see the queen, I just have to. I have some important news about magic and Queen Amilia needs to hear it." she said. "Queen Amilia?" said the captain, suspicious now. "Err, yes... what?" replied Lina, confused. "Hold her!" the captian ordered suddenly, and two big guards grabbed Lina. "What?" the petite woman cried. "What did I do?" "Silence." ordered the captain. "Lock her up! Queen Amilia indeed..."

Thus it was that a perplexed Lina found herself roughly escorted away to a jail cell and was roughly tossed inside. "We will deal with you in the morning." said the head jailer. Lina shouted "What did I do? I just wanted to talk to the Queen!" A woman's voice at the back said, with a dangerous, drunken slurr "Ah shut up short stuff!" Someone else giggled, also with a slur. "Oh great..." thought Lina. "Two mean drunks. They threw me in with two mean drunks. Dear Ceified, please, please, please! Don't let anything happen. I don't want to be tempted to use my powers." However, if the great Flare Dragon had heard her, he obviously had other plans. There was a shuffle and the mean one came forward. She was a big, tough looking woman, it was obvious she had been a long time user of alcohol, and that she had seen a few fights in her day. Lina's eyes went wide with fright, even going all out, she didn't know if she would be able to take on this woman just by physical means. "You looking at me, you flat chested shrimp?" said the woman. "I don't like you see?" "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude..." stammered Lina, not sure how to handle the situation. Once upon a time the woman would have been sobered up using the thermal method of applied fireballs by now, but with Lina trying desperately to avoid that she was at a bit of a loss. However, it was apparent the drunk had already decided to fight, no matter what. "Oh you'll be sorry alright!" she said, and cocked her fist back.

Lina discovered that she had a few god moves in her, but alas, the confines of the cell made them hard to apply. But she did land a few blows, and might have won even, if the other drunk hadn't suddenly grabbed her from behind. Now she was struggling as hard as she could but it was hard to keep her footing with the woman behind her tugging her around. Of course all this time Lina had been screaming at the top of her lungs and it was not very long before the jailer and some guards rushed in. Still it took a bit to get the keys out and the right one found, and the lock turned so that the door could be opened. By this time Lina's lip had been bloodied by more than one well directed blow. Then the door opened with a pop and Lina was tumbled to the ground with the women on top of her. The guards reached for the pile of pugilism, but never made it. A voice, horrible in it's intensity and it's tone shrieked "MINE!" and suddenly a monsterous wolf like creature, in armour, with one pupiless white eye, and one pupiless black eye appeared in the midst of the fray. In a second the two women on top of Lina were flying through the air and into the stone walls. One never rose again, such was the force of the blows. The monster screamed and the guards fell flat. Lina looked up and screamed as well.

"What did he tell you?" roared the beast at Lina. The room almost shattered from the energy in the voice. "What do you mean? Who?" screamed Lina back. The monster roared again "Don't play innocent with me Lina Inverse! Even if you ARE the greatest sorceress this age has ever produced! He told you something! Dolphin didn't say enough for you to guess! Yet right after you save my life you turn your back on magic and won't even use it now when your life is in danger, and you want me to believe Xellos said nothing to you!" There was a commotion at the door and a figure ran in. He held up his hands and started to shout "Ra-" "NO! BY THE GOLDEN LORD! STOP! NO MAGIC!" shrieked Lina at the man. He was so startled hed actually did stop. The wolf creature caught Lina up by the throat and snarled into her face "That proves it! Speak!" Lina gasped for breath and said "I- he- only said that it had something to do with the words of our spells and that the mazoku never give something for nothing! I figured it out from there!" Lina shrieked back in terror. This was all just going to hell in a handbasket before her eyes, and she didn't know what to do anymore. The great wolf screamed once more in rage, and yet, also in pain, then it fell on it's knees and then onto all fours, and... wept? Lina felt her grip release from Lina's throat and she rolled away and breathed deeply.

She looked back over and asked, tears in her eyes, only partly from the pain, "Beastmaster, please, what's happening to Xellos?" The wolf beast didn't answer at first, but soon it glowed like before and the beautiful, sensuous blonde woman was back, on her hands and knees on the floor, and now she was in human form it was obvious that indeed she was weeping. "I have to destroy him Lina." she said quietly. "I have to kill my child. I never knew a mazoku could feel this sort of pain in her heart, but, I'm his mother, see? And his Lord. I have to do it or Dynast and Dolphin will gang up on me and do it to both of us. And our Father Shabradnigdo stirs in the astral realm and is most displeased. I have to do it." She was silent for a minute more then looked up to Lina, her pain evident. "I hate you Lina Inverse, with every ounce of my being I hate you. I should kill you, but you saved my life once, now I will spare yours. This time. If we ever meet again I will kill you, is that clear?" Lina nodded, too scared to speak. Zellas-metallium lowered her eyes and Lina found the courage to speak again.

"Please Lady Zellas, make it quick..." she said. The beastmaster looked up, wonder and fear in her eyes and on her face. "You care about him?" she asked, shocked. Lina nodded. The beastmaster stared at her for a long time. Suddenly she shot forward with supernatural speed and grabbed Lina, pulling her close. She whispered fiercely "I must lose Xellos forever. But there is one thing I might try. Listen carefully. Lord Dynast walks the frozen regions of the northern pole of this pitiful world as you know and has made it a power for the mazoku. But there is another power Lina, and it lives at the south pole. You've never met this power, and your punny race has forgotten it is even there, but it is. It has your answers, go there, and I will set Xellos up there too, if you are quick enough, you might just save him. Save my boy Lina, and I will ignore you, fail and I will take you to hell myself!" She released Lina and stood up. "You can forgive and even care for your enemies? Now I AM afraid of humans. You will destroy us all yet." With those ominous words Beastmaster vanished.

Lina fainted. 


	3. cChapter3

Lina wasn't quite sure where she was when she first woke up. Some man was looking at her, and he kept trying to say something, but Lina couldn't hear him over the rude person who kept calling her name and asking if she was okay. So she went back to sleep.

The second time she awoke the man was still there. Now he was the one asking if she was okay. Lina thought she was, she was just fine, it was the man who obviously needed help, his face was blue, poor guy, he must be cold. And someone had embedded stones in his face, they just had to hurt. But Lina was fine, and to prove it, she went to sleep again.

On the third try, Lina finally broke the surface. She looked at the man, and knew him. He asked if she was okay, and Lina suddenly hugged him like a frightened little girl might hug her father when he shows up to make everything all right. "Zelgadiss..." she whispered. "Thank Ceiphied and the Golden Lord it's you!" Then she started to quietly cry.

After hugging her till the sobbing slowed down Zel looked at her again and said, with a smile, "So, does this mean the rumours of your death are greatly exaggerated?" "I don't know..." she replied, apparently in all seriousness. "Oh Zel, I have made a total mess of my life, and I didn't even know it until a short time ago when I made a discovery. Xellos helped, against Beastmaster's wish apparently, and now he's going to die, and I never thought I'd feel guilty, but it seems to be all my fault! Oh help me Zel. I need to see you and Amilia and explain! Can I go to her now? I realise she must be busy as Queen, I did hear of Phil's passing, but this is that important!"

Zel looked at his old friend for a long time without saying a word. Finally he helped Lina sit up and said "Come with me Lina, a lot has happened and I need to catch you up. Then we will see the Queen." Lina blinked, but got up and went with Zelgadiss. At the door he spoke quietly to a guard "Please tell Her Majesty that Lord Greywords bids her receive a very special visitor who claims she has an important message." The guard nodded and left up the hall as Zel turned and took Lina down it in the other direction.

Lina tried to figure out where they were going. The layout of the palace hadn't changed much in the decades since she had seen it last, but of course, it was heavy stone and you didn't rearrange stone very easily. Still, they went to a little known part of the grounds and finally decended some stairs. As Zel unlocked the gated and they stepped in Lina was shocked to see where they were.

"Zel?" she asked, feeling scarred of what he was about to show her, "This is the royal crypt isn't it? Why are we here?" Zel said nothing, but took Lina down a long line of stone sarcophagi, each with the effigy of a dead king or queen lying on top. Finally they reached the end of the line. Lina looked down and saw the stone vissage of her old friend Prince Phillionel. He was decked out in state but on his head was no crown, he had never accepted his father's disappearance and had refused all his life to be crowned king. "Zel?" asked Lina. "Not him." Zel replied and pointed to the very last grave. Lina gasped in horror. The effigy was clearly Amilia.

"H-h-how...?" she managed to get out. "It was almost six years ago now." said a sad Zel. "We aren't sure what actually happened, but you remember she liked heights? Well one day she was playing with Rubia, that's our daughter, and they were flying around the tops of the castle towers. They were laughing, carrying on, striking "Justice poses" and even giving those ridiculous speeches. Well, long story short, Amilia missed her footing and she fell, Lina. Can you imagine? Well, but she didn't scream or anything on the way down, so I don't know if something didn't happen when she was in the air. But if she wasn't dead when she fell, she was when she landed. At least it was quick."

Lina stared at Amilia for a long time then, rather strangely, or perhaps not, she went over and began to cuddle and caress the effigy of her friend, even kissing the stone lips. With tears streaming down her face she spoke to the statue and said "Amilia! I know where you are and I swear that I will find a way to release you from that horror, if I have to take your place to do it!" She turned back and said to Zel "Who is the queen then? I thought Amilia was to succeed?"

Zel replied "As for that, well, ten years ago Phil had his first heart attack and went from robust to very ill and weak. Amilia did what she could and took over rule of the country. She did a good job, but secretly she had always hated it, though I was probably the only one she told. We were married by then and I had chosen the role of consort rather than King for myself. Yes, made it a bit harder on her, but it let me be able to support her more effectively, and I was free to watch the children, since she couldn't. And she agreed with me before she let me take on the role. Anyway, word of Phil's illness and impending doom went around the world, and one day, several months into Phil's illness, who walks out of the blue and back into the royal courts but the missing and presumed dead crowned princess Gracia!"

He went on "Amilia's older sister had heard of her father's illness, and come home from wherever she had been wandering. And she brought a lot of strange ideas, and a wealth of different magic, a lot of which she had discovered herself. Anyway, after a period of adjustment, she settled down to court life and actually took her place, which didn't bother Amilia in the least. And, in a move that further cemented the two sisters together, she even appointed our oldest son, named Phillionel for his grandpa, as her heir and successor. She then apparently settled down to be Queen when Phil died. I think Phil was so happy she was back he lived a year longer than he might have otherwise, but about eight years ago they found he had passed quietly in the night, presumably from another heart attack, and that was that."

"Gracia was crowned, and took over from her father, and life seemed well enough, until Amilia fell. I have never been truely happy since, and I believe Her Majesty still mourns the loss of all her family in private, but life goes on. But we are all sad Lina, the children miss their mother, and with no children of her own, and no desire to have any, apparently, Queen Gracia is a good but distant aunt. Oh well, tragedy seems to be the lot of the house of Seruun. But, why do you mourn for Amilia as you do, Lina? You make it sound worse." "It is." replied Lina quietly. "Take me to the Queen now, Zel, and stay yourself, I'm way over my head in this, ans so is everyone else."

Zel looked worried, then nodded and led Lina out of the crypt and into the castle proper. Once there a servant directed them to a private chamber where they would be able to meet the Queen. The entered the room. A tall woman was there, her back to them as she was staring into the fire. her long, long hair, which must have been black once, but now was a salt and pepper colouring, tumbled freely down behind her, preventing Lina from getting a good look at the woman's form. Lina was a bit surprised, she had assumed that this Gracia would be shorter, like Amilia. She glanced at Zel, who nodded, and Lina dropped to one knee in greeting. And waited for the Queen to respond. There was brief pause, Lina, who was looking down deferentially, heard the woman shuffle around and then...

"OOOHOhohohohoho! Well, well, well, look who has finally decided to climb out of the woodwork and pay her respects!" said the Queen, with a voice, and a laugh, that Lina would never forget as long as she would live. Lina turned pale and started to sweat nervously. Unable to help herself, she looked up and said to the Queen, now standing and looking down on her, "Naga?" She was even so shocked by this that she went down on all fours, as if in an act of extreme supplication. This amused the Queen who treated her to another round of laughter.

Zel looked puzzled. "You know each other?" he asked quietly. "Oh yes." said Lina. She looked at the Queen and asked "Gracia?" "Gracia ul Naga Seruun, also known as Naga the White Serpent at your service Lina Inverse. By all the gods, how many decades has it been since we travelled together, or even saw each other? Well, no matter, I hear you are practically a sage now, sixth of the line and successor to Rezo himself!" "Dear Gods, NO!" said Lina in a hurry. Naga cocked her eye and said "Really? Well, at any rate, my life has taken me from magic, and now I suppose I must finally concede the title of "World's Greatest Sorceress" to you! But do get up Lina, I hear you have something important to say to me! I'm all ears!" Lina got up shakily and said "I need to sit down to say this, please, can we?" Naga raised an eyebrow. "That good eh? Well, come with me." She led them to another room with a table and some chairs. They sat down.

Lina got right to the point. "I have made a horrible discovery. I'm going to Hell!" Naga and Zel exchanged glances and Naga asked "And what is it you did to merit such an afterlife?" Lina looked up, naked fear in her eyes, and Naga shut up. This WAS serious. Lina explained. And the silence, when she finished, was profound and terrible. Zel spoke first. "I feel sick." he said, quietly. "Are you sure of this?" asked the Queen, barely above a whisper. It struck Lina that this was the first time she had ever seen Naga look so helpless and so scared. "If my source were anyone other than Xellos, and in a roundabout way, Beastmaster, I wouldn't believe this myself." replied Lina.

I wondered what she was doing there in the cell block with you." replied Zelgadiss. "That was me you stopped from throwing a Ra Tilt at her, by the way." Lina nodded and said "It would only have made her mad at you Zel, she was worked up over Xellos. I think it even caught her by surprise that she could feel pain in a bad way over what was about to happen. And it frightened her I could forgive even a mazoku like Xellos. But was it just me or did she really whisper to me just before she disappeared?" "I couldn't hear her, but I saw her say something to you." replied Zelgadiss. "What did she say?" Lina thought and said "She said there is a power we humans have forgotten about at the south pole of our world that has the answers, and that I should go there. She said Xellos would be there and if I was fast enough I might save him. If I did, she would forget her promise to kill me next time we met, but if I failed, she'd come for me herself. What do I do, Zel? Naga? What do I do?"

There was a silence then Naga said "It sounds like you are being sent to the South Pole..." "But to a cure or to a trap?" asked Zel. "That I don't know." replied the Queen. She went on "I will have the royal librarians scoure everything we have for information on this Pole. In the meantime Lina, start planning an expedition to go there, just in case that's the final decision." Lina nodded. 


	4. dChapter4

A week later the three friends met again in private to discuss matters further. Naga had had people analyse the problem from several angles and it was agreed that indeed anyone who had used the word pledge to cast magic, regardless of the colour, had almost certainly bound themselves over to the being that granted the power. And there was the rub. True white magic was a gift from the gods in response to prayer, so there was no pledge involved. Anything else was ultimately tainted by the mazoku, even if it was healing power. So, most of the world was in trouble, and most especially the part that had been trapped for a thousand years under the mazoku shield.

What hurt the worst was, why hadn't anyone realised it? And now that the cat was out of the bag, as it were, who knew if the mazoku would attack? Was the end of the world at last at hand? So the decission was made for Lina to leave on her search quickly. But where to go? There was little written about the south pole in the Seirunian archives, and nothing about a power that lived there. The situation looked hopeless, should Lina go, or would it be a trap?

It was at this time that fate brought another visitor to the Queen of Seirune seeking for magical answers. It caused a stir when it was announced that a young woman, holding a dragon's egg, had appeared at the gate begging for help from the Queen. After some hemming and hawing, Naga decided it was her day to see people and got ready to meet the visitor. Who knew what help the gods might send? So, with Lina and Zel hidden to one side, Queen Gracia ascended the throne and bid the girl enter.

A young woman, she looked about 16, tall, beautiful, with long flowing blonde hair, wearing a pink and white dress, entered. In her hands she carried a basket and in the basket there was a soft glow, the glow of a dragon's egg. She hadn't made it to the Queen to even begin her audience when both Zelgadiss and Lina recognised her. "Filia?" they both cried. The young dragon maid, for the woman was indeed she, turned with a start and after staring for a second said, tentatively "Miss Lina? Mr. Zelgadiss?"

"Oh? YOu know this woman?" asked the Queen from her throne, feeling a bit upstaged. Lina came forward and bowed. "I beg your pardon Your Majesty!" she said. "I knew this woman years ago, no, decades ago, when Zelgadiss, Filia, and I, plus a few others, Amilia included, defeated the demon Darkstar from the Overworld. I was startled to see her is all. May I present to Your Majesty the former shrine maiden of the Fire Dragon King, Filia ul Copt."

"Former shrine... wait, you are a dragon then? A Golden Dragon by the looks of things?" said a bewildered Queen Gracia. Filia dropped to her knees and said "I am indeed Your Majesty, and I come to you needing help. It is a matter of life or death! Oh please hear me Your Highness!" "Proceed, please." said Naga, quite unsure where this was going to go.

"I was a shrine maiden as Miss Lina said." Filia began. "But a time came when I realised that the Golden Dragons of the Fire Dragon King had commited a great evil against against the race of dragons called the Ancient Dragons! We killed them! Out of fear! It was a shameful act that I wish I could purge." Filia sniffled for a minute then got ahold of herself.

Lina was amazed that Filia could carry such hurt and guilt for what happened before she was born. Had she always been so sensitive? Well, but Lina had been so young when she last saw Filia, maybe she missed somethings...

Filia continued "But that is ancient history, except for this." She held out the egg. "It takes a hundred human years for a dragon's egg to hatch. This egg was formed, as Miss Lina can attest, only a couple of decades ago, after we defeated Darkstar, and along with him, the last member of the ancient dragons, one Valgaav by name. He alone survived our destruction, and became intent on destroying the world. He was destroyed in the end, but as he fell, some power made him into this egg, as if to give him another chance. I was honoured to become his mother by accepting the egg.

"Now, alas, the ancient hates have caught up and I find myself unable to protect him! Golden Dragons of the other clans have heard of his existence and seek his life, because they fear him. The problem was that Valgaav was once in league with the mazoku lord Demon Dragon Gaav and had taken in some of his power. Now the others of my kind fear he will be corrupt when he hatches, and want to renew the attemp to destroy all things, and in truth, mazoku have come to try and take the egg from me, which has only confirmed their fears.

"To them, not to me. I believe Valgaav is not a danger and have defended him as best I can. But alas! The attacks are more powerful of late. My shop, where in I sought to have a quiet life to allow me to attend to this egg, has been attacked and destroyed, my craftsmen have been scattered I know not where, and I am assaulted! I knew not where to go for help, but then I remembered Seirune was strong with protective power, and so I have come to you for aid. You are my only hope, Your Majesty. Oh! Please help me!"

By the time she was done Filia was shivering uncontrollably. Lina hugged the distraught dragon girl and looked to Naga to hear what the Queen might say. Naga was silent for a long time as she tried to decide what to do. Finally she said "Well, my Lady, you may certainly stay here for what it is worth. But we know not what help we can truely give. Still we shall think on it. Meanwhile, you must be famished, please, join us at lunch?" Lina was perplexed at why Naga would take this line with Filia, but the young woman accepted. Naga bid her servants prepare a room for Filia and let her stay at the palace. After Filia was led off, she turned to Lina and said "You be there too, if we know nothing of this other power the dragons may not have forgotten. And you know we can't defend her easily with magic, not now that we know what we do." Lina nodded, Naga was right, whether Lina liked it or not, Filia might know something. "Zel should be there too." she said. Naga nodded. "Try and keep me out." said Zel with a smile.

The lunch was ready soon, a simple affair, with a lot of emphasis on the queen's favourite, seafood. Fortunately, the others liked it too and so they set to with a will. At first they made small talk, but it was evident that Filia was, to some extent putting up a brave front to her own troubles.

Lina decided to get to the point. "Filia, we need to talk, okay? I know a lot has happened since we saw you last, but, well, I have a task I have to do and it seems to be pointing toward me going to the south pole and finding a power that is there. Do you know anything about this?" "Yea," interjected Zel "Our information is based on what we have been told by the mazoku, sorry, and we may need to go, but we are trying to decide if it's a trap or something real."

Filia turned wide eyes to Lina and after a period of silence quavered "All I have heard is that the dragons believe there is a power at the pole which is beyond that of the gods and the mazoku. Perhaps it is a link to the Golden Lord herself, but I don't know. If the power is there, and it is that powerful, it is likely only Ceiphied himself would have approached it." She paused and looked down in thought, then looked back to Lina and added "Well, all I can say is I don't think it is mazoku in origin, but I wouldn't put it beyond them to use it as a bait. But why in the name of all that is holy do you have to go there?"

Lina sighed and explained to Filia what she had found. And how. Filia seemed to be in a state of shock afterwards as she tried to take it all in. She held her hands to her head with a look of horror on her face. "The Supreme Elder, he never could understand why humans looked to the Mazoku for power. He never could solve the puzzle of why you'd make such an "exchange". That was his word! I always thought he meant the oath of immortality and he never explained differently. Oh gods, now I wonder if he didn't mean this! And didn't realise you didn't know! The path of the dragons through history is different than the path of humans, we never got involved, we didn't know! I'm sorry!"

"Eh?" said Lina. "You mean you dragons had an idea and didn't say anything? How could you not get it?" she ended, getting rather hot under the collar. "Easy Lina..." said Zel soothingly. "There is a lot we don't know ourselves, including a lot about dragons. Maybe they knew, and maybe they didn't. The thing is that we know now and have to do something. It isn't Filia's fault." Lina allowed herself to be calmed then turned to Naga and said "Well, Naga, it seems that the only answer to this mystery is at the pole. I'm going. Will you help me?" "Of course." sighed the Queen. "I don't want to go to hell, and I also hope you can find a way to rescue my mother and father, and poor Amilia."

"Miss Amilia?" asked Filia quietly. "She has passed away." said Zel quietly. "And as a user of black as well as white magic she's pledged herself. As have we all." Filia wept a bit. "She was so nice..." Something seemed to firm up in her and she looked to the others. "I'm going to help! I'm coming with you, if I can find a place to keep Valgaav safe. My going with you may throw the pursuers off of his trail, and I might get an answer too. And as a dragon I might be able to give you an advantage if the mazoku are up to something."

"Err well, Filia, what can we do?" asked Naga. "I don't think anyone will use magic around here for a long time now, and I don't know where to keep your egg if they can't." They all thought for a long time.

Zel looked up, and in a puzzled voice asked "Filia, you said only Ceiphied might have approached this place of power? Do you know of any place we might access the wisdom of Ceiphied from?" Filia looked at Zel, a bit surprised, then glanced over to Lina. "Miss Lina?" she asked. The others looked over at Lina, puzzled.

Lina sat there shivering. "Y-yeah, she might be able to help..." was her reply. Naga cocked a questioning eye but Zel nodded as he got it. "Your older sister is a Knight of Ceiphied isn't she?" he asked. Lina nodded, and gulped. Naga's eyebrow went higher. "They don't get along that well..." was Zel's reply.

"All that time we were together, and you never mentioned you had a sister, Lina!" said the Queen. She quickly added "Not that I'm in any position to talk..."

Lina replied, uncertaintly in her voice "Well, I'm sure that by now there is so much water under the bridge she will be happy to see me, it's just I never quite got over the fright she gave me as a child, not that I didn't deserve it, he, he. And if anyone can guard Filia's egg it will be her. Yes, that's where we go next, you are right. To Zefielia, and Luna." 


	5. eChapter5

The next morning the three adventurers set out on horse back. Naga was openly envious that they could go while affairs of state kept her tied to the throne, but that was the way of it. Besides, she had an expedition to the pole to prepare.

The three went with what blessings they could be given, and were well provided for in terms of provisions and money. It was agreed that only Filia would use magic if it was needed, and the others would only use their powers as a life or death last resort. So, with some trepidation, they rode along. But it was an uneventful trip and one morning they found themselves riding into Zefielia city, and asking the way to the house of Luna Inverse.

It surprised them to find that most of the people they asked didn't know who they were talking about and Lina began to wonder if something had happened to her sister, when an old man after a moment of thought, pointed them to a small, well run inn, and said "He, he, caught me buy surprise you did. Inverse was her maiden name..." Lina breathed a sigh of relief and led the way into the house.

The first person she met was a youth of about twelve or thirteen with long blue hair. But that alone wasn't the most shocking thing. He looked for all the world exactly like "Rowdy?" asked a stunned Lina. "Rowdy Gabriev?" The young man was trying to play the role of waiter but the weird old lady was clearly confusing him. "Uh, yeah, that's me, can I help you guys?" Lina was stunned. "I left you in the past a thousand years ago on the island of Mispross! What are you doing here? Is Joyrock back?" Lina was vibrating a bit as seeing Rowdy again brought a rush of memories over her from the time she had helped Rowdy rescue the elves, and the island, of Mispross from the attack of the demon being Joyrock.

What ever memories Lina was having were obviously too much for Rowdy as he gave a frightened "Yowp!" and ran out yelling "Mom! Dad, there's a crazy woman in the Inn!" "Nice one Lina..." said Zel.

Lina buried her face in her hands. "He's the spitting image of Rowdy, I'm sorry, I was shocked. Wait, did he say his name WAS Rowdy?"

But there was no time for further speculation as there was a bang and a few thumps and a man rushed in from the kitchen with an axe in his hands. From his bare chest and sweaty skin it was obvious he had been splitting wood. It was also obvious he knew a thing or two about fighting.

But what really carried the day was the reaction of the three travelers when they saw his face, framed by his long pale blond hair. "Oh, it's you!" said Filia, relieved. Zel was shocked, but recovered quickly and began to laugh.

Lina, well, that was another matter. The world swam for a minute, and she staggered back into Zel. Then her head cleared and she gave a scream. "Gourry?" The blond swordsman looked at her in shock, then lowered his axe and said, quietly, "Lina!" Lina vibrated for a minute then got ahold of herself. "Y-you're here..." She felt faint again.

She took a breath and then stepped towards the blond swordsman who used to be her self appointed bodyguard. With a trembling voice she spoke. "Gourry, I have wanted to say this for a long time but never could find you. I am sorry for what I said and how I said it. I never ment you to go, and not a day has gone by that I haven't regreted it. And look, you are revenged, for I have made such a mess of my life..."

Gourry shot a puzzled look to someone behind Lina and said "I think you can put that down now." A woman's voice replied with a chuckle "Well, I don't know about that, she's not getting you back you know..."

Rowdy entered again with an older girl, a redhead, obviously a sister, who said "Told you so. Leave it to mom and dad to turn a fight into a joke." Eh?" said Gourry turning to the children. "Hey you two, this crazy woman is your long lost aunt Lina!" "Go on!" said Rowdy. "We have a crazy woman for an aunt?" "Seems so..." replied Gourry.

In days gone by Lina might have said something, well, thermally unpleasant to that remark, but she didn't hear it this time, as she was busy staring at the woman who was behind them, a woman with long purple hair, just begining to show traces of gray. Oh, and a big stick she was slowly lowering to her shoulder. The bangs were gone though, letting the intense purple eyes sparkle through. "You?" she said to the woman. "Him?" she added, looking at Gourry. Then she really did faint. "Must be age," said Zel as he lowered her to the ground. "She does that a lot lately." Filia smiled at the woman and curtsied. "Good Morning Lady Luna!" she said.

Lina came around in a few minutes and woke to find everyone staring at her. After a good cringe she managed to smile and even get out a feeble "Hi sis..." Luna gave her a suspicious look, then started to chuckle and threw a big hug around Lina.

"Where in the hell have you been all these years you twirp!" she laughed. But Lina's reaction ended that as the younger sister suddenly curled up and cried "No, don't say that!" Luna was puzzled. "What, twirp? You want me to go back to Lina the Pink?"

Lina shook her head and Zel quietly interjected "No, hell. You see, Lina's going there, as are a lot of people, and we need your help." Luna was dumbfounded. Lina was sat up and her story coaxed out of her yet again. If Luna was dumbfounded before, she was a hundredfold now.

"I never heard of such a thing!" she finally said. Filia explained what she knew from the golden dragon's point of view. Zel then brought up the matter of the south pole and asked if there was anything Luna could do to help. "I'm going to have to search what memories of Ceiphied I'm allowed to access, and that will take time I'm afraid." replied Luna.

Lina spoke up. "First, I want to know how you and Gourry ended up married!"

Luna chuckled and said "Well, simple. A wandering mazoku names Xellos showed up one day and challenged me to a fight. Said something about how Beastmaster had heard that I was stronger than he was and wanted to find out if that was true. Let's see, I was, thirty, um one then. And I was helping in the fields at harvest time, so yup, you got it, no sword, just a basket of grapes. Well, he was apologetc, but he also attacked with all he had. If I had my sword... Anyway, he was winning, when a man from the next field over ran up and put himself between us and yelled at Xellos to go away. And he swung a sword.

"I realised that if I could get that sword I'd win, but things took a strange turn. When I asked for the sword the man laughed and said there was no need as he'd met Xellos before and the demon knew the sword. Xellos made some sort of concilliatory remark and, to my surprise, vanished. And I haven't seen him since. Well, of course I wanted to know who the big blond guy was and what his sword was. Imagine my surprise as he recounted his tales of traveling with you Lina. Now, of course we didn't discuss this all at once. He was helping with the harvest to make ends meet as he traveled through the lands. I convinced him to settle for awhile and got him a job helping in the kitchen, so I could keep him near. I don't know about you, sis, but I wasn't going to let him go! He's far too dreamy!"

Lina shook her head. "Xellos... Well, he never mentioned any of that when he dropped in to torment me from time to time. Oh well, I'd have blasted him and he knew it." She sook her head sadly. "I didn't intend to let Gourry go, Luna, I was just too impulsive again, as usual..." she said. "But why were you thirty one and not married yet?"

"Oh well, I never could forgive the local perv's who looked at my shadow projection, and, well, I just never found anyone..."

"I really, really AM sorry about that." replied Lina, cringing again.

"Well, you were ten, and stupid, and I was fourteen, and just as stupid, which reflects worse on me as I was supposed to be older and know better. And I learned a thing or two about making enemies of powerful mages from that, so, hey, no problem there!" Luna smiled in reply. "Besides, despite his being a jellyfish at times, Gourry..."

Here she had to stop as Zel and Filia collapsed into each other's arms, laughing. "Even Lina chuckled. Gourry sighed and shook his head. "Uh, I never had the courage to tell you dear, that's what she used to call me too..." Luna just about bust a gut. Even the kids were laughing.

Finally Luna pulled herself together. "Well, long story short, I got to know this Gabriev guy, the Gabriev's are famous in sword circles you know, and I got to learn about the Blast Blade, and the fight with Dynast, and well, over time he became quite a good kitchen helper and, provided he's supervised, a good cook, and when this place came up for sale we were able to pool our money and form a partnership and buy it and run it. We were successfull too, and we were together all the time, and we liked each other, and well, one day it went beyond like, and here we are. And now, finally, here you are, and I'm glad you're back, but I'm keeping Gourry, got it?" Luna ended with a chuckle.

Lina smiled. "Well, I admit I had my faint hopes, but I'm not surprised he's taken. And now I understand about your son Rowdy looking like and being named after the original from Mispross Island. But Gourry, I always imagined it would be Sylphiel you'd go back to."

Gourry scratched his head. "Sylphiel? Sylphiel? Oh! Sylphiel! Lina, I haven't seen her since that Hellmaster business. And I never loved her you know. I know she had a thing for me and I'm sorry if I hurt her, but she never had, well, the lively spirit you and your sister have, and well, I always wanted that in a woman. Truth is Lina, you are the first woman I fell in love with and when it ended I stumbled around aimlessly for years till I met Luna here, but I didn't recognise her from your descriptions though, must have been the bangs. Yeah, I was surprised to find out who she was, but we had established our friendship first so that had little to do with it except maybe as a common link in our pasts."

Lina smiled. "Well congratulations you two, I am happy for you. Oh but this IS funny!" she said, finally starting to laugh herself. "How are mom and dad?" she then asked.

Luna smiled. "Rowdy, Eleana! Go tell grandma and grandpa who is here and that we'll bring her along shortly! No, no arguing, off you go! Oh, and put the closed sign on the door on your way out!" The kids shambled out, as only kids can, and Luna looked at Lina and said. "Going to hell, eh? You couldn't just drop in for a visit?"

"I was going to." said Lina, "but I never got motivated to leave. Until now."

"Well, I'm going to have to have time to access the Ceiphied within me, so you better be ready to stay till tommorrow at least. But then what?" Lina told her. "You're kidding, right?" asked Luna. Lina shook her head. "Rowdy is right, you really ARE crazy! she sighed. She turned to Zel and Filia and asked "And how do you fit into this, may I ask?" They told her. Luna shook her head. "Well, as far as that goes Filia, I would be more than happy to protect little Valgaav. If they can get through me, and Gourry with his Blast Sword too, then they were more that dragons or mazoku. So please rest easy about that. And please do what I cannot, please protect my little sister. I don't want her to go to hell, but I can't leave here, so I am asking you as a favour to please go for me." "Oh yes, I will!" said Filia.

Finally she turned to Zelgadiss. "So, you are the chimera that Gourry has talked about. I have never met anyone like you before, but you know, I'm glad I finally am having the chance. Rezo eh? Yes, we've all heard of him." She shook her head. "Lina, it was a good thing you met Shabradnigdo, not me, I doubt I'd have been able to draw enough strength from Ceified to win. Nor against Hellmaster either. And that Darkstar, I didn't have the right magic for that. That's why I sent Filia to you, I know you'd do it! But now it's turning out to be not so good, eh? Hmmmm. Sis, I will do it tonight I promise. In the morning I will tell you everything I can. So, let's go see mom and dad, and cheer up for tonight! No matter why you are back, the important thing is you are here and it's been too long since we all got to tell you how much we love you!" With that they were all swept out and up the street to Lina's parents. And indeed, Lina was loved, and the strength it restored to her was everything she needed. 


	6. fChapter6

The next morning Lina was up early, but even so she found her mom making breakfast. "Hi my girl!" she greeted Lina cheerfully. Lina smiled and went and hugged her mom. "It's nice to be home." she said. They hugged for a long time until the cooking food demanded attention. "Luna will be hungry after her all nighter you know." the elder Inverse said.

Lina gave her mom a worried look. "Err, you know?" she said. She had tried to say nothing the evening before so as not to worry her parents. He mother nodded and replied "I knew something was wrong so I worked it out of Luna since you weren't going to talk." her mother said. "Don't forget, I'm your mother! Also, I'm a magic user too, and dear, for both those reasons I have a right to know. I don't know what, if any, help Luna will be able to give you, but you should at least know you have your family's love as you sail off to the pole or wherever you end up. And yes, your father knows too, and we are both scared, but we do have faith in you, love."

Lina smiled and snuggled back into her mother. She sighed "I should have been more passive and stayed here when I was younger, in your arms I mean, mom. Yes, your love and your blessing are very comforting, and I think they will work a good magic that no evil pledge can touch."

Luna entered just then, obviously tired. "Oh my head hurts..." she said as she flopped into a chair. "There's a reason I don't probe the mind of Ceiphied very often." Lina went to her sister and took her hand. "I'm sorry Luna, I've always been a source of pain for you haven't I?" she said with a little sob. Luna smiled and hugged Lina. "For you sis, I'd bear a lot more than this headache. And yes, you have been a pain, and not just in the head either, and I thinks that's the biggest reason I love you, it's a mark of your independance, your free spirit. And I've been a pain to you too, I doubt you have forgotten about the stick, he, he."

Lina blanched for a second then replied with a nervous smile "No, I haven't, and to be honest, I'm still afraid of it. I don't mind admitting, now, that for most of my life I've been afraid of you, afraid of making you mad at me. I know it's silly, but that's the effect it had on me. But it did me more good than I let you see at the time, and I do thank you for it."

"Well then, you are welcome, you silly." said Luna with a pained chuckle. "Oh well, anyway sis, here's what I found out. There is a power at the pole. It's at the pole so that we who are of this earth can access it, though with great diffuculty. I'm guessing that's so we don't annoy it with trivialities, but that's only my thoughts. It is equal to, but different from, the Golden Lord herself. It isn't hostile to us, but it's ways are above our ways so it may be incomprehensable. And one adresses it as the "Silver Lord". Oh, and my memories seemed to feel this old saying was important, so remember it! "Seek and ye shall find, knock and the door will be opened unto you, ask and ye shall recieve." I hope it helps sis, there isn't any more. Except that the pole is surrounded by hundreds of miles of ice, snow, and intense cold, so be prepared."

Lina took it all in with a sigh. "I hate being cold..." she said. "Oh well, we have to get going today, time is vital, we don't know if the mazoku will attack us, or even the world, in an attempt to stop this from getting out. If I can I will come back with healing for everyone, and I have no intention of dying while trying either."

Lina's mom went and hugged her again, and sat her down. "It isn't much, but perhaps a good breakfast will be a good start, my love. It's really about all I can do except give you my mother's blessing on you and what you must do. I just want you to know I'm proud of you and I love you, Lina." she said.

Lina smiled and said "Thanks mom, and yes, I will have breakfast if there's any to spare from what Luna needs." Her sister waved her hand and said "I can't eat till this headache passes." Lina looked downcast. She replied "And we can't even cast a healing spell..." "Oh don't worry about that!" was Luna's response. "I take it you never let Gourry give you a back rub! That man can almost rub old age itself right out of a person!" She smiled in anticipation.

Lina sighed. "I really, really blew it with Gourry, I see that now. Oh well, I am truely glad he found you, my sister. You have a wonderful family and beautiful children. And you sure look happy, even now with your sore head. Ah well, now that I am no longer magical, I may just have to find me a replacement, he, he. Though I don't imagine that I'll be a mother at fourty four. And in hindsight, I think I would have loved being a mother. If only I hadn't been so caught up in magic."

Her mother said "Now Lina, we can't see all ends, and maybe it was meant for you to get so caught up, so that you could make this discovery. And you are the only one able to effect a rescue I think, so maybe you'll be the mother of us all as you save us from the afterlife we have accidentally made for ourselves. Anyway, it isn't over yet Lina dear, and there are things like adoption too don't forget. You may have a new chance at life yet."

Lina smiled. "Thanks mommy, I do appreciate that. It's like the way you always smile, somehow you manage to make me realise that there is always hope"

With that she set to with a will on her breakfast, and was pleasantly surprised to remember all the good times she had as a girl eating with her mother. Which was good, because as she finished she heard a lot of yelling outside and went out to investigate with her sister. It was the kids. Rowdy was being teased mercilessly by his older sister who had something in her hand that he obviously didn't like. "You bring that over here right now young lady!" barked mother Luna in a no nonsense voice, wincing from her painful head.

"Aw mom..." her daughter replied, sulking over like it was all her brother's fault and she was just an innocent bystander about to be executed.

"Well? What have you got there? Open your hand." commanded Luna. "It's disgusting!" said Rowdy, coming up with the agony of the world on his face. "Yeah and it suit you!" he was tormented back. "Silence!" commanded Luna. "Open your hand." The girl reluctantly obeyed.

It might have not been so bad if Lina hadn't been right beside Luna when her niece did so, for the girl had a big, wet slug...

Lina's scream just about shattered the windows and every eardrum in the immediate range. She fell on the ground quivering and saying "Mommy! Daddy! Make it go away! Please! Sister, get rid of it, Gourry, anyone!" The others looked at her, stunned. Zel came out from somewhere on the run, sword in hand. Filia, with mace, wasn't far behind. When they found out what was going on Filia stood there, uncertain of what to make of it, and Zel dropped to the ground laughing. As did Gourry and Lina's dad a few seconds later when they caught up to the rest of the gang and realised what had happened.

Luna laughed too, but also took the slug and returned it to the lawn where it wasn't visible. She made a point to wipe her hands and came over and helped Lina up. "I had forgotten about the slugs Lina, I am so sorry. That was my fault!" Lina shivered in her sister's arms for a long time.

"I... can't... help... it..." she sobbed. Eventually she got her breath and added "Ever since... that night... I've been afraid to death of slugs and snails."

Luna sighed. "I really did a number on you with them didn't I. Far more than I ever meant to. I am sorry for that too Lina, I really am. What a childhood we had..."

Lina was eventually persuaded to return to the table and the whole family had another breakfast. The children, evil brutes that they were, coaxed some of the stories of their mother and their aunt as children out of the reluctand adults. It might have helped if Grandma and Grandpa had taken a little more coaxing, one would think they enjoyed the way their daughters squirmed.

"Hey!" demanded Rowdy at one point. "How come you got away with that stuff and don't let us when we do it?"

Luna looked him in the eye with one of her dragon stopping glares and said "And who says we got away with it, just because we did it?" She turned to her parents and whined "Honestly mom, dad, do you have to encourage them so?"

Her mother looked innocent as she said "Mother's curse, dear." Her dad had a gleeful look and replied "Vengance is best served up cold after all." Then they laughed, leaving Luna feeling a little wilted.

She rounded on her kids. "There! You see whay I had to put up with? Compared to me, you two are absolutely spoiled! So don't ever let me hear you complaining about how hard your lot is! Now, get outside and play, but leave the slugs and snails alone. We might want them for an escargot special later and they need to be undamaged, got it?"

There was a crash as Lina fell off her chair.

Later, after being persuaded to have a last lunch with her folks, no snails, Lina left on the return journey. After they were out of earshot Zel said "I think I begin to understand why you were never in a hurry to go home Lina"

"I don't want to talk about it..." muttered Lina.

"But at least you made peace with your family, Lina." put in Filia.

Lina smiled. "Yeah and I am very grateful for that, I really am. I just wish now that I had done it a long time ago, and under less desperate circumstance. But, atleast it's done. And I will be back to see them. You mark my words, I WILL be!"

With that the three of them rode on to Seirune and the departure. 


	7. gChapter7

The journey had been a long and tiring one. Especially on account of the boredom. For weeks which had seemed like months there had been little but the ocean and the ships. Only when they had to go to shore to restock the water and such had there been a break, but those were few and far between, and altogether too short. But they were under strict orders to run due south as fast as possible. Still, Lina wished she had something to do, on account of she was slowly going stir crazy.

It had been exciting at the start, of course. They had arrived back from Zefielia and found Seirune all in a buzz of preparation. Queen Naga, er, Gracia, could work fast when she wanted to, and now she wanted to very much. Five ships, the very best, were to go, and it went without saying that the five best captains and crew went with them, and the very best Admiral was going as well, to give overall command. Naga had even figured out ahead of time, all by herself, that the pole would be snowy and cold and had made what provision she could for warm clothing and sleds to transport the food and other supplies they'd need crossing the ice.

The travellers knew they really weren't prepared very well, but they had no information to go on beyond what was know about travel in the northern pole which was also ice covered. So all sorts of things were packed away that someone thought might be useful. And a large amount of gold was also shipped, the hope being that if they came upon friendly denizens of the region they might be able to purchase help and information. In the end, they had made the best preparation that they could and, when everything seemed right, they sailed away.

Due south their course lay, and due south they sailed. At first, well, after they got their sea legs and they were not queazy any more, it had been fun to sail, to sway to the rhythm of the majestic ship, and watch the friendly ocean swell and roll awsomely about them. The friendly sun shone overhead and the tang of the salt air was invigorating. Of course, that was before the friendly storms hit...

It was noticed almost daily that the weather kept getting warmer and warmer, and indeed after a little while the word was hot! Swelteringly so, but at least the ocean modified it somewhat and it was bearable. The boredom, already well set in, was another matter. But, there was nothing for it but to bear up and put up with it. What books Seirune had, that were found to have any information related to the quest, were stocked on board. And Lina had read each of them at least a dozen times. Heck she could quote some of them in her sleep, or so she joked when she sat to supper with her companions.

That event was rare enough, Zel kept himself busy as a crew member, and Filia was moody, doubtlessly worrying about Valgaav and the future. Lina tried to walk around as much as she could, to get in shape, She also took the task upon herself to play the naturalist and keep observations and notes, but she found her thoughts still tended towards magical uses and it was frustrating at times. But she kept her thoughts focused on writing an accurate journal, figuring the mental discipline might be of help.

After the weather, the most noticable change was in the stars. The familiar circumpolar ones sank lower and lower towards the north, while those of the ecliptic rose to straight overhead. And behind them, new stars were rising to fill the gap. Lina began to grasp the enormity of this thing called creation and was awe struck. "So much we didn't know, and we didn't even know that we didn't know it." she thought to herself. "Well, if I can get clean, or even if I can't, there is still a lifetime's work to do that has nothing to do with magic."

As the stars of the Zodiac passed overhead the weather was the hottest, but as they began to sink behind the little fleet it was noticed with relief that the weather began to cool again, and didn't keep heating until it would burn them, as some on board had feared. Now, if only they could be convinced that they wouldn't fall off the edge...

Eventually there came a day when they were far south and the persistent cold, in the air, in the water, even, it seemed, in their souls, gave them reason to think that their quest was about to end, as far as the sea was concerned, and was getting close to the time of the treck overland, or more to the point, over ice. Lina shivered violently as she watched the unfriendly swells roll up and down in front of the ship. Sometimes they broke over the bow, sending cold water everywhere.

And speaking of cold water, they had used up almost all their stock of drinking water and were making for land to find a refill. As they came up to the mouth of a river that looked promising they noticed there was a village on the shore. Lina went and said to the captain "I think that if we are going to get any information from the locals about what lies to the south, this is the place to do it." The captain nodded.

Some time later, Lina found herself in a boat being rowed to shore by several seamen. The fleet had used the gold wisely and negotiated permission to anchor and resupply from the local authorities and now, not only fresh water, but also fresh provisions of all sorts were being restocked on the ships. And the crew and passengers were enjoying some time off of the ships, on shore.

Or they would, if the ground would stop moving, thought Lina as she staggered around trying to get her land legs back. She just couldn't readily stop pitching herself from side to side in anticipation of a roll of the ships deck, which, being that they were on shore, just didn't come. She wandered, well, staggered, throught he streets of the town, trying to learn what she could, hoping not to make a spectacle of herself in the process. Without much success, as she did a glorious face plant on main street.

Kind hands picked her up and a kind voice asked if she was hurt. "N-no, thank you. I just can't walk straight after being on ship for so long..." she replied, dusting herself off. She then turned around and looked into a kindly pair of eyes so grey they were almost silver, eyes which were bubbling and merry, but which also had a profound depth to them that she had never seen before in her life. They took her breath quite away, and it was a long time before she realised he was handsom too.

"Uh, hi." she finally stuttered. "Thanks, um, I'm Lina, Lina Inverse." She didn't know why she felt so self concious around this man, it was as if he was staring into her soul.

But he just smiled and said "Call me Argentus, Lina Inverse. I am happy to make your aquaintance. So, you come with those ships do you? And why does a pretty lady travel so far? Fun? Adventure? Hmmm, but you seem too serious, ah but you have had a long voyage, yes? And you have just gotten off the ship and are still unused to the solid land again, yes? Tell me, have you eaten lately? That often helps."

Even as he asked, Lina's tummy gave a loud rumble as if in answer to the question. Lina's face went as red as her eyes as she stammered "Uh, I-I guess that's your answer, so uh, Mr. Argentus thanks again for your help, and if you just p-point out the restaurant or inn or whatever you have here, I'll take your advice..."

Argentus looked at her with an amused twinkle. "I'd be a cad and a bounder indeed if I let you stagger your way alone, now wouldn't I?" Here Lina, take my arm and I'll steady you, okay? Oh, and don't be formal, my name's just Argentus." Lina nodded and took his arm.

By the time they had made it to the inn Lina had decided that even if he wasn't Gourry he was still a nice arm to hang onto. They entered the dining area, and as with such places all over the world it was full of talking and happy eater, some from the ships crews. And over in the the corner? "Zel! Filia!" called out Lina happily. "Oh there are my friends!" she said, feeling better now. "Please come and meet them." "My pleasure." her companion replied, with a smile.

They came to the table and sat down and Lina made the introductions, frowning as Zel a bit as he cocked an eyeball at her and made an off handed comment about Lina's going "native". The small talk ensued and quickly enough they were relaxing around Argentus. He even took the liberty of ordering for them, explaining that they had less of an idea of the local specialties and if they would but trust him... Which they did, and their trust was well rewarded.

"Yummy!" said Lina as she dug into her plateful. "Food hasn't made me this happy since I don't know when! Probably when we were traveling together still, eh Zel? I'm going to have a triple helping of double portions of this! I probably won't get to eat this good again until we are done our mission..."

"Lina!" said Zel, a bit alarmed. "Oops..." said Lina, glancing over towards Argentus, who replied "Mission?" and cocked a curious eye at Lina. Lina sighed. "My mouth, the only thing on me that's big, has a history of getting me into trouble. I'm sorry, I'd rather not say."

"Oh," replied Argentus. "So then, are you saying that there is no use in my asking why a sorceress, a chimera, and a golden dragon in her human form want to go to the south pole?" Three jaws dropped and six eyes stared at him with a tinge of fear.

"Oh please..." Argentus went on. "The crews of your ships have been talking openly about the pole since they came ashore. Lina, you have a small but distinct burn on the back of your hand, a chemical burn, not one from heat. The sort of people who usually play around with such things are sorcerers. I could be wrong, maybe you make etchings in metal with an acid, but such people are usually too busy with their trade to go galavanting about on ships looking for the south pole. As for Zel's being a chimera, it is as plain as the stones on his blue face, and Filia's tail is showing a bit. It really wasn't that hard to figure out once I got to know you. You want to go to the south pole. The question is, well, first, why, and second, do you really know what you are doing? You seem terribly unprepared if you ask me. And you should, I've been there. More than once."

Filia blushed and tucked her tail in. "That damned thing, I can never remember to keep it fully hidden." she murmured. Zel's old instincts got the better of him and he threw his hood over his face. Lina looked at her hand. She had forgotten about that mark. Now she remembered, she had dropped a beaker when the reaction had unexpectedly boiled over on her. Somehow she had splashed her hand. It had hurt for weeks, but she hd learned to be more careful... careful... yes, careful with magic, but not of it. She hung her head as a fresh wave of helplessness washed over her. She gulped, and looked over to Argentus. "We have to find the pole." she said. "It's important."

The man looked at her and said "A bunch of ice and snow?" he said. Lina started. "We, we... we were sent to find someone. I know this is hard to understand... Argentus smiled. "Oh, you are after the Silver Lord. Interesting..."

Zel spoke up. "Can you tell us about him?" Argentus smiled. He replied "Well, not many have even heard the tale of the Silver Lord, and very few have ever looked for him. But I have been with several parties that have gone to the south, and all they have reported was ice and snow. Why do you think that you will find anything different?"

Lina looked around, feeling a bit hopeless. Filia was worried, and Zel put it into words. "Please don't tell me this whole adventure was just to chase a story."

Lina replied "No, no we aren't, remember? You were there when Beastmaster herself told me to go, and then my sister Luna tapped Ceiphied's memories too. They both said there was something there."

"Well, but how could the other parties have only found ice and snow?" asked Filia with concern.

Lina thought for a minute then said "Remember what Luna said? "Seek and ye shall find, knock and the door shall be opened unto you, ask and ye shall receive."" She turned to Argentus and asked "Were your groups looking for the Silver Lord, or just the pole?"

Argentus smiled and replied "They sought the pole, and found it. You are right though, they did not seek the Silver Lord. Hmmm, perhaps you will be able to find him after all Lina Inverse. If you survive the trip. Tell me about your preparations." They did. He looked thoughtful and then said "Do you have a guide?" The answere was no. "You do now." he said. "Or you will be dead in three days, before you've made your first ten miles. How say you?"

Zel spoke first. "One thing we fear is a mazoku trap. How do we know you aren't part of it?"

"You don't." replied Argentus simply. He then added "But you have a golden dragon with you, tell me Filia, do I smell of mazoku?"

Filia shook her head and said "No, you don't. But how do we know you know the way to the pole?"

Argentus smiled. "Again, you don't, but why should I lie?" He held out his hands, big, well muscled, obviously used to work and weather. "These are not the hands of an idle boaster. They know work and they know cold. They have been to the pole you seek. You can ask around in the village if you like. Pay attention as you do, you will find that the people here make their living from the ice and the seas. We often go south for our fish and other food. We know the ice, as sailors and as explorers. You will see we have no reason to lie. And you will have time to ask, there is a squall coming in off of the sea, you will not be going anywhere tommorrow. I recommend you eat and sleep and talk and think, and plan. We can talk again tommorrow evening. For tonight, I have given you enough to think upon, and you need time to talk this over amongst yourselves, so I shall say "Good evening" and also "Until we meet again."" With that he smiled warmly, got up, and after a bow, left the group at the table to talk things over. 


	8. hChapter8

The next evening the Slayers were seated at supper. As promised Argentus appeared and joined the gang. "So, you have put your day to productive use, yes?" he asked.

Lina responded "You mean we spent the day trying to find out about you, of course. Oh yes. It seems you are quite well thought of around here, Mr. Argentus. Everyone knew you and thought highly of you. However, no one seemed to know much about you when pressed. You're a real man of mystery aren't you? Well, I don't think I like mysteries."

Argentus' eyes shone with mirth. "A sorceress, not like a mystery? Come on, Miss Inverse, whom do you seek to fool, me, or yourself?"

Lina recoiled as if stung. "Do you read our hearts?" she asked, fear in her voice.

Argentus replied, very gently "Lina, I observe. I have never met, nor even heard of, a sorcerer who didn't have a profound curiosity about the mysterious. And you seek the Silver Lord, perhaps the greatest mystery of all, with the possible exception of the Golden Lady herself. And you tell me you don't like mysteries? I don't need to read your heart to know better than that Lina."

Lina shook her head, then nodded, then shook it again, and finally turned to Zel and said "I'm confused..."

"Nah, he just caught you in your own trap Lina." replied Zel. "Okay," he continued. "You want to be our guide you say?"

Argentus smiled. "I didn't say I "wanted" to be your guide. I offered to be your guide because you need one. I trust you realise I am observant, and somewhat quick of wit by now. Trust me, on the ice, those are not boasts, they are survival skills. Perhaps it is my way of wording things that puts you on edge?"

Zel shook his head. "We were on edge to begin with. You are uncanny, I'll give you that, Argentus, but, as Lina was saying, you seem to be well known, and unknow. And that is something that bothers us. We know we are in trouble, and will need a guide, but we are not sure if it should be you."

"Oh, found someone else did you?" Argentus asked, in a matter of fact way.

"No." replied Filia. "It's too near fishing season, or something. And I suspect you knew we'd get no one. How is it then that you aren't fishing? You don't need to make a living?"

"Not everyone fishes, dear Miss Filia!" said Argentus with a pleasant laugh. "And did I say I work for free? On the other hand, as with the rest of the world, not many here have heard of the Silver Lord."

"But come, let us be reasonable. You have no time to send away for my references, and you have not told me how I may prove I am utterly trustable. Nor do you have time to devise a test like that, not in the time left before you must go. And go you must, to do this properly you should have been on the ice for weeks now. Summer is coming and the ice gets more treacherous as the weather becomes milder. Ironic isn't it? In winter the ice is safe, but the weather will kill you, in summer it is the other way around. So, you don't know if you can trust me, but you have no one else. what does your gut tell you?"

After a minute of silence, in which the gang glanced back and forth between each other, Lina finally replied. "it tells me that you are not as you seem, but yet it doesn't think you are an obvious enemy. So I don't think you are out to do us any harm. That doesn't mean you won't harm us. As for whether you know the ways of the "ice" as you call it you have us at a disadvantage there, and we don't deny it."

She sighed. "Here's the deal, if it's money you want you shall have it, beyond the dreams of avarice. If it's something else, please tell us now and we shall see if we can accomodate you. I can't be more blunt than that." She looked sad. "If you mean us harm, well, I'm tired of fighting, just get it over with, please?"

"Lina!" said Zel with obvious concern. Filia looked at her, worried as well.

Lina broke down. She started weeping quietly and turned to Argentus. "The truth is, we magic users have all been a bunch of stupid fools! For generation after generation we have been using spells handed down from time immemorial. They work wonderfully well, and I have been one of the best at it. Some have said I'm so powerful I'm going to be the sixth sage after Rezo the Red himself. I don't believe it myself but that's what's been said." "Well, all magicians want to make big discoveries and I've worked really hard at it and made lots. Them by accident I made my most important, and scariest discovery."

She gulped and went on. "We all accepted the words of the magic spells at face value and never thought about them. It turns out we have all been pledging ourselves to the dark forces of the universe. They don't mind giving us their power in this life because then they own us for eternity after death. We have all pledged ourselves to go to hell! As their absolute pain slaves! And they have no mercy!"

She cried a bit more then went on. "My sister is a Knight of Ceiphied. She was able to tap into his memories and she found out about the Silver Lord. A power at the south pole equal perhaps to the Golden Lord of Chaos herself. I don't know how to reach the Lord of Nightmares except through magical spells of the most terrible sort. So I am grasping at the last straw I have left and going on a desperate fools errand to the south pole, or my death, to ask an unknown power that might not even exist if he or she will help. I don't know what else to do, I have to try something. Not just for me, for all the people who were fooled as well. We were so stupid, we didn't know, and yet the words were plain enough, we just didn't pay attention." She sobbed some more.

Argentus put a gentle hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him. For a flash she thought she saw... no, it had to be the tears... Yet she could see deep concern in his eyes. She took a deep breath and made up her mind. "I trust you." she said simply. It was decided.

"Well just a minute" said Zel. "What do you want in exchange?" he asked of Argentus.

The man smiled at him and said "Tell you what, after we conclude the mission successfully I will tell you what I want. And just so you don't get suspicious, I will leave it to you to decide at that time if I have earned it, all three of you. You have the option to say "no", will that be okay?"

"No." said Zel."But we have no choice. Okay, you are in, I guess. Filia?" he asked turning to the blonde dragon girl.

"I don't know either, but if Miss Lina will trust him I know I trust her. Yes, alright, we will follow you, Mr. Argentus." Filia replied.

"Then listen to me. You will never make it now if you try to cross the ice the usual way, you'll need to wait till next spring. But, if you are willing to fly..." Here he looked at Filia. It took her a second, then she nodded.

"We won't be able to take much with us for supplies." said Zel doubtfully.

"I've already asked around out of curiosity." said Argentus. "Nice try but most of your stuff is junk. This isn't like the snow you are used to, the kind that falls every fall, and melts off in the spring. Oh no, this stuff falls and stays. Some of it has been there since long before the first, never mind the second, war of the monsters fall. Even before the battle when Ceiphied defeated Shabradnigdo. It is like nothing you are used to. And it is cold. Spend enough time on it and you will never call your winters cold again. I will see you are outfitted as best I can. Miss Filia, you will have to be ready to carry three people and the sled with the supplies. Will you be able to do it?"

Filia looked frightened, but bravely said "I will do my best. My very, very best. I too need success."

Zel added "As do I. Command us."

"Command?" said Argentus softly. "Oh no, I only guide. But I will guide you truely. Now, I will get the supplies ready, you be ready to sail with the dawn, the tide will be turning then, and it will be a good weather day." The other's nodded as he got up to leave.

Lina followed him. She tapped his shoulder and asked "Excuse me, Argentus, I have to know. Were you sent?"

Argentus looked at her with surprisingly gentle eyes. "Sent? I came of my own will, Lina." With that he turned and went out, leaving a puzzled and strangely hopeful Lina standing there. 


	9. iChapter9

A week later, Lina was looking at the edge of the great ice cap at the bottom of the world. Never in her life had she ever imagined that anything like this could exist. She jumped everytime an iceberg was cracked off of the ice sheet to fall into the ocean with a hugh splash. The air was cold, bitter even. The wind was strong, and constant. She couldn't imagine what they were thinking. How were they going to cross that? No, how were they even going to get on it?

Argentus had studied the water, or something, and told the captain that a bay was nearby, and given the directions. Lina didn't have a clue how he could know, but suddenly, there it was. And lo and behold, the ice came down to the water, and they could land. Which they did.

Lina began to understand what Argentus meant about the ice being different the first time she slipped. She had fallen on ice before, and it was hard, but this was like steel! And it hurt. But she couldn't tell which hurt worse, the pain of banging into the hardness of the ice or the burn caused by it's coldness. She got up and promptly went down again, screaming as she landed again. Argentus gave a good natured laugh and helped her up. Then bending down he carefully and quickly lashed a strange device onto each of her boots. "Crampons!" he said, then, seeing her puzzled look added "Ice spikes. You should walk better now." She did.

The four of them were standing on the ice now, one loaded sled beside them. The captain was sailing off, he had instructions to wait in the village they had left a week ago, and return at a set time to see if the travelers were back. After that, if they weren't back, it would be up to him to decide how long to wait before returning to report failure. Lina felt fear and loneliness set in and mentally upbraided herself. This was what they had come for, and besides, they had only gotten here. Finally she said "Well, Filia, when you are ready..." The blonde girl nodded, she was just building her courage.

Finally, she went behind a chunk of ice, she was still shy about changing, and in a short time there was an intense glow and a large, and very pretty, golden dragon suddenly rose into existence. "Oh Ceiphied it's cold!" she said in shock.

In short order the three others were on her back and she carefully grabbed the sled. With a deep breath she took off into the air. "Which way?" she asked. Argentus set her on her course.

Lina leaned over and said "Filia, I know I have said that don't want to use magic if I don't have to, but I will gladly cast a recovery spell on you if you need it, as many as you want, just give the word."

Filia replied. "Well, we'll see, Miss Lina. We aren't chasing Darkstar at top speed this time, but it is very cold, I'll do my best."

"Thank you." replied Lina.

Lina watched the ice speed by below them. Argentus was right, "ice" was the only word for it. And what ice! Great jagged cracks passed below them, and hugh mountains of frozen water, steel hard and smoother than glass. And white everywhere. No, some cracks revealed what had to have been one of the loveliest shades of blue Lina had ever seen. "oh, if I ever get the chance, I would love to come back and see some of this better." she said to Argentus. "I never knew the cold could produce such loveliness."

"Who can say? You may get that wish Lina." he replied. "And you are right, this is a beautiful planet. I haven't just lived there at that village, I have seen green jungles, yellow deserts, blue rivers and red sunsets. And I have seen animals and plants that are stunning to behold, and other things that seem as if they were cruel jokes, but if you can put them into the context of their naural settings, they make sense, and thereby have their own loveliness. Everything can be beautiful in its own way, Lina, if it is given a chance. Humans are beautiful too, only they sometimes forget, and marr it with the ugliness of evil. If they would only let go, and let live, they might be surprised what wonders this world could give them."

Lina nodded, a lump in her throat at the thought.

As time went on Lina could feel Filia start to shiver. "She's cold." Lina thought. "Ready for a recovery?" she asked. The dragon shook her head no. Lina sat back, but she was getting concerned, it looked like ice was forming on Filia's wings. She pointed it out to Zel who nodded, looking worried himself. Still, Filia sped on through the sky straight towards their goal, the ultimate south.

"You're taking this calmly I must say." said Zel to their guide. "Have you ever flown before?"

Argentus smiled and replied, "Why, is there something I should be worried about?" Zel shrugged.

Finally, after more time had passed Lina was worried. Filia was still flying, but she was obviously tired. She refused offer after offer, and even got mad at Lina for making them. But her wings were more a shade of blue, not gold, now, and she seemed, well, not herself anymore. Lina looked to Argentus with a worried look.

He looked concerned too. He leaned forward to Filia and said "Miss Filia, It's time to land."

"N-no... not passed noon yet..." shivered a dull sounding Filia.

"I'm so sorry Filia, I didn't tell you. At this time of year, this far south, the sun never sets. It is well passed noon and you are getting very cold. We all need food and warmth, please, it's time to land, trust me. I am your guide, okay?" responded Argentus.

"I- I can make it a bit further..." chattered Filia.

"But we can't." said Argentus. "Please, for our sakes, you must land."

Filia nodded. "Where?" she asked.

She was directed to a flat place, and talked gently through a low and slow pass that let her drop the sled safelyu so it didn't break, and so that she was able to have her feet free to land with. Then she skidded to a stop, rather roughly, and lay there on the ice, exhausted. Argentus was quickly beside her head, stroking her neck and praising her great effort. He then said "Courage, Miss Filia, one more effort. Change back to a human again and we can help you. Only this one last thing okay?"

Filia nodded then looked around, struggling to get back on her feet.

Argentus spoke again. "Don't worry Filia we will turn our backs." They did just that, and Filia changed again.

Lina ran up to her and threw a cloak around her. "Keep her moving while Zel and I set up the tent." instructed Argentus.

The men ran to the sled and pulled the cover off. They grabbed the tent and quickly set up the framework. Then the outer canvas was put over the frame and secured to the ice. Finally the inner canvas was set up, making a double walled tent, much warmer. Zelgadiss then set the floor in place as Argentus dug out the alcohol stove and the fire proof block it sat upon. Soon it was burning in the middle of the tent and warming the water for tea. The sleeping bags were haulled inside and Filia was brought in and bundled into one. The others climbed in as well. Argentus brought the food in and closed the flaps. Soon they were sipping down warm tea and there was a meal of sorts cooking away.

"What were you thinking of?" Lina asked of Filia who was sitting there, almost too tired to shiver.

"It's who..." Filia managed to say finally, looking very unhappy. "I want us to succeed Mis Lina. I want all you humans safe from your own folly. But I also, maybe even more so, want little Valgaav safe. I'm sorry Miss Lina, I've never been a mother before, and I have no one to ask. If I go to the humans they don't know about being a dragon. If I go to the dragons, they don't want him to be. The elves either won't care, or they will side with the dragons. And what's the point of even trying the Mazoku?"

"I also didn't want to ask for help, I didn't want to have you use magic, and I guess I even had some pride that suggested I could be the hero, to be honest. Please, forgive me?" she concluded.

Argentus handed her the first food that was ready. This time, even Lina didn't object. He said "You did wonderfully well by any standards Miss Filia. We have covered in one flight what would have easily taken three weeks on foot to cross. I can appreciate the determination that drove you on too, you have acted out of love. But I must point out that Lina is right, you were acting emotional and not thinking. We only have one dragon to ride, better to take shorter hops and arrive a day later all well and ready for action, that to make one effort and fall just short of the goal. If you are racing against death, better not to meet him on the way, I think."

Filia nodded and said "Let me rest and I promise to let myself be guided better. I have never felt such cold, not even when we went to the temple of the ancient dragons, Lina."

Lina nodded and said "I know, I remember, I was freezing to death then, or so I thought, but now that seems like a balmy spring day compared to this. Mind you, I felt something like this cold when I ventured into the north to fight Dynast, but I was younger then, I had my goal, and my youthful exuberance to keep me warm, and Gourry too..." She sighed.

Argentus dug out a flask and gave it to Filia. "One swallow only. The herbs in this tincture will help you recover, but the alcohol base will make you think you are warm, and that is not true. The old saying abut alcohol warming you is a lie. Alcohol merely makes the warmth in your body's core come to the surface and you feel warm, but in the end it makes you colder as you lose that heat. No more flying until you've had a good sleep, Lady Dragon!"

Filia nodded and took her sip. Her eyes bugged out, and it was obvious from her choking that there would be no worries about her breaking the one sip rule. Lina asked for the flask and took a sniff. "Professional curiosity." she said. It was foul, but she could detect underneath the obvious bitterness that there was some sort of healing virtue. "Where'd this come from?" she asked.

"It's made in that village, after generations of fighting the cold and even of tramping about on the ice, they've learned a trick or two." replied Argentus. "We aren't going anywhere for awhile, try a sip if you are curious. it is terrible, but it's virtue isn't it's tase, it is in the healing. We won't go anywhere till Miss Filia is ready, so a sip won't hurt you or Mr. Zelgadiss here, if you are interested in this."

Lina nodded, and took a sip. Her reaction left no doubt that the stuff was strictly medicinal. Zel too had a sip, and the sight of a full grown Chimera gagging like a youngster being given his first shot of hard liquor made Lina chuckle. "Heady little number isn't it?" she giggled. "Right up there with the better lables in paint thinner." Zel gasped back.

Argentus smiled. "Well, I said I'd supply what was needed for crossing the ice didn't I? If you wanted luxury that was extra, and required advanced booking."

Now Filia was nodding off and after she was settled the other three looked around. "Now what?" asked Lina.

"Now comes the times that make these sorts of adventures fun." said Argentus. "Let's tell stories. Who wants to start?"

"Host first." said Lina. Zel nodded.

Argentus smiled. With that he began to tell stories of his travels and the things he had seen. He told of grand vistas, rare beauties, and even hidden mysteries. He was a good speaker when he got started. He had funny tales, serious tales, tales that made you long to go and see, and some that made you glad to be safe at home again. He had snatches of poetry, and snippits of song. Soon Lina and Zel were sitting there as if enchanted, and Lina felt something she hadn't felt in her heart since the beginning of all this. Peace, real peace. Finally, the day's events caught up with her, maybe the drink helped too, but she was yawning and couldn't stay awake anymore. The day had worn her out, and she drifted off to one of the best sleeps she'd had in her entire life. 


	10. jChapter10

She woke the next morning to see Filia's smiling face as she scooped some breakfast onto a plate for Lina. "The men are outside collecting snow to melt into water." she explained. 

Lina sat up and yawned and stretched, it was chilly in the tent, but she realised it was nothing to what it had to be like outside. She took the plate with thanks and started eating, and thinking. She realised that they were now totally at the mercy of Argentus, if he wanted to prove false, now would be the time. All he had to do was walk off and nature would do the rest. He, on the other hand would likely be able to survive and get back to wherever they had started from. And yet, she didn't get the feeling he was gong to do that. And she began to have real hope, perhaps for the first time in their journey that they might find this mysterious "Silver Lord". At least, they would have the best chance they ever could, to succeed.

Now, this Silver Lord was a puzzle too. A power perhaps to equal the Golden Lord of Nightmares herself. Yet it hadn't been heard of before? Not since Ceiphied's day? Lina shook her head, puzzled. And Luna had called the power only the Silver Lord, but when Zel had said "him" Argentus had carried on. Was he taking his cue from Zel? Or is this Silver Lord a masculine power? If that's so, and, as Argentus had called her, the Golden Lord was more accurately the "Golden Lady", uh, where did that leave them? Lina's head spun a bit at the thoughts.

At this time the men returned with the ice and began melting it for the water. "Ah, Lina! Awake and eating! Good. We can go when this water is melted, and Filia is ready. Isn't flying fun?" said Argentus.Lina nodded, her mouth full.

"No heroics today, okay Filia?" asked Zel. Filia nodded her agreement, also in the middle of eating.

The men joined in and breakfast disappeared faster than Lina would have liked. And then the packing up. Finally all was ready and the group awaited Filia, who didn't disappoint, and in a short time they were airborn, bearing due south. As before, the landscape was beautiful, in a sort of cold, hostile way. Lina was chilled after awhile and found herself shivering too much to enjoy the beauty. Zel seemed fascinated, and Argentus had his permanent good natured smile on his face. Lina found her thoughts more and more drawn to him, who was this man, what was his mystery? A traveller, and a guide? She remembered she had thought she had seen something flash in his eyes when she had been crying her fears out to him at the supper table, was that just her tears? Or was there something else? Oh well, time for such mysteries later. Now she was cold.

The flight went on and on and Lina was freezing and about to say so through her chattering teeth, when Argentus leaned over and told Filia it was enought for today. Now they were over a glacier field, and they had to look carefully for a landing. Again the skill of Argentus came in very handy. He directed Filia towards several spots that seemed promising but ended up rejecting them. He explained how to read the colour of the ice and the group could see that the friendly lookng ice had hidden cracks and crevices in it that made it dangerous. Finally, they found a secure corner of a glacier, and landed as they had the previous time, only with more grace as Filia wan't as tired. But the dragon girl still shivered. A lot.

Warning the group not to stray because of treacherous ice Argentus quickly directed the setting up of the camp as before. Finally they were huddled in the warmth of the tent again. Again a sip of the healing, bitter drink, this time it seemed less objectionable, the healing was most certainly appreciated. The girls bundled up warmly and the men got hot food and hot drinks ready as quickly as they could.

Zel handed Lina cup of hot soup. "Drink Lina, it will warm you up." He let his hands linger on hers for a minute as he handed her the cup. He asked her "Will you be alright Lina?"

Lina didn't remove her hands, instead she looked up and smiled as she said "I'm okay Zel. I just can't stand the cold is all."

Zel responded by giving her a rare warm smile as he gently stroked her cheek. Lina smiled even more and took his hand. Then, looking him in the eyes, she put a kiss into the palm of his hand and closed his fingers around it. "You know Zel, I realise it's too late now, but the truth is, if Gourry hadn't already been in my life when I met you, I don't know if Amilia would have been so lucky..."

Zel looked at his closed hand for a minute, then placed the kiss next to his heart. "Neither do I, Lina." he answered with a chuckle.

Lina nodded. "Of course I had to get over that little "hang me up by my wrists and let Zolf insult me while Noonsa kissed me" bit at the begining, but I really began to see something profoundly good in you when you stood up to Rezo after you freed me. Of course, it might just be the impact with that tree has clouded my thinking."

Zel blushed, then laughed. "Yes, I've always wanted to ask what did you mean by "Koala" as I peeled you off that thing?"

Lina smiled back "I don't remember now, but I remember I said it. Oh well..."

"Yeah, we went through a lot together didn't we, Lina?" asked Zel as Lina started sipping her hot soup.

Lina nodded. "I know, and they all run together, yet I can pick out the incidents like yesterday if I try. He, he, I remember that pep talk you and Gourry were giving each other about going to death or glory fighting Shabradnigdo that time. Nothing six chicken dinner couldn't fix eh?"

Zel laughed at the memory. "And your little "there's always hope..." speech afterwards didn't hurt either. We may have been too manly at the time to admit it, but I know Gourry and I were very glad you were coming with us. And it turned out to be a good thing to. Without your Giga Slave..."

Lina smiled at Zel and nodded. "Glad to have been of service." she said.

"Miss Lina, what was it like? Holding the ultimate spell in your hands I mean?" asked Filia, who had been listening as the two friends recounted adventures from before her time with them. Even Argentus cocked a curious eye at that one.

"Eh?" asked Lina. "Oh, there is a great rush of energy that keeps building, and, just before you cast it, there is a single instant when you hold the completed spell in your hands and you feel like you hold all the power in the universe. You feel like you are god, Filia, you feel like you are the Golden Lord herself, and frankly, it scares the shit out of you. Pardon my language, but there is no milder phrase that even begins to describe the sensation. You get a brief glimpse, as if through a dark piece of glass, of a mere reflection of what infinity must be like, and it blows your mind. You feel scared Filia, you feel terrified."

Filia gulped. She had never handled power like that in her day, and as a golden dragon she had handled a lot of powerful magic, some of which the humans had never even guessed existed. And she wasn't going to start talking now. Still, a spell that gave you the feeling of infinity, yes, she could see why that would be scary. Just the thought of it frightened her. "I never imagined such power could exist in a spell." she said simply.

"What did it feel like, the second time?" asked Zelgadiss, gently.

"You mean with Phibrizzo?" Lina asked. Zel nodded and she went on "I don't know, it got to the same point, then I remember waking up on that broken archway, or what ever it was, with Gourry hugging me, and my lips feeling like they had just been kissed passionately. Naturally, I assumed the worst, and decked poor Gourry full power in the face." She looked down at her now empty soup cup for a minute then went on. "In hindsight, I now know I held a power that was equal to the giga slave in my hands, and I blew it." She shook her head sadly. "I held love in my hands, and I sent it away over a stupid argument about a silly hole. He asked me to marry him, and I argued about digging a hole. Well, I'm glad he found Luna, they seem so good for each other. Ah well, I deserved what I got. A life of loneliness, as empty as that hole, and in the end, worth nothing, because it all turned into a mockery when the truth was found."

"But you found the truth, Lina." said Argentus in a gentle voice. "Your life has been stood upon it's head as a result, it's true, but it isn't over yet, and this is a new begining, a chance to try again."

Lina looked up at him and gave a laugh. "Yep! I'm not ready to close the book yet! Oh don't mind me, I get introspective at times but I'm not really gloomy. I'm only fourty four, after this adventure is over who knows? I may find love yet! Certainly I know there are other things in life than magic and I can do them and have fun too." She smiled broadly, then, her smile fading a bit, she added "Well, most of them. I would have liked to have been a mother... Oh well, enough about me. I'm tired and we have another flight tommorrow don't we?"

Argentus nodded and said "It should be our last I think. Alright Lina, you are right, time to rest. I know the sun is up, but, be that as it may, goodnight every one!"

With that, the party settled down and slept.


	11. kChapter11

Lina awoke the next morning to the sound of Filia screaming for help as she burst into the tent. "What!" Lina yelled in her turn. She could see Argentus also sitting up in a hurry. 

"Zel! I- we went to get the ice for the water, he thought he heard something and went to listen better, and forgot to watch the ice. He broke through into a hole!" she cried out, obvious fear in her voice. The two sleepers were up in a flash and out the door, stopping only long enough to pull their foot wear on. Filia directed them to a hole in the ice not very far from camp.

Argentus told the girls to stay back as he went down on his belly and slid forward, distributing his weight better to avoid falling in himself. He looked in the hole. Lina bit her lip nervously as Filia wrung her hands. Argentus spoke. "I bet that was surprise, eh Mr. Zelgadiss?"

From the hole came a faint but clear curse. And a nasty one at that. Zel was alive, and from the sounds of the oath, he was alright. The crew on the surface laughed with relief. "It sounds from here that you are not hurt?" Argentus asked.

"No, I'm not." said Zel. "If one of the girls had fallen in they might be badly injured, but thanks to my being a chimera, I just bounced. Well, it hurt a bit, I might get a bruise, something I haven't had in years, but nothing broken. Except this chunk of ice that fell on top of me."

"So I see." replied Argentus. "Trapped are you? Well, don't worry, give us a bit of time and we will get you out." With that he started testing the ice. A few minutes later he stood up next to the hole and said "This part of the ice is solid." He pointed towards the camp. "That is dangerous." He pointed away. He gave a few chips with an ax and opened the hole a bit.

He turned and said "Lina, go get dressed warmly, you are going into that hole to help Zel get out from under the block of ice while Filia and I will hold the rope you will be tied to. In fact, I'll come with you so I can dress too, and get the rope. Filia, get the fuel for the stove and fill it please, and put some ice on to make water, we'll need a hot drink when we are done, and no one has eaten yet either."

Lina felt like she should object but couldn't think of one. "I could levitate..." she said. If this wasn't an emergency worthy of using magic she didn't know what was.

Argentus smiled and replied "No magic to use a rope." Lina nodded.

Soon the preparations were ready and Lina found herself dangling at the end of the rope as it was being lowered. Filia was obviously strong, well, she had dragon strength, and Argentus was strong for a man. So she actually felt fairly secure. And if something happened, well, she was ready to use magic. Eventually she made it down. After some careful poking around she decided the ice floor was safe and walked over to Zel who was lying there under a block of ice. "Well, I've heard of ice sculpures, but this is a bit much, Zel" she quipped.

"I wanted to try a new angle and work from the inside out..." Zel joked feebly back. Lina set to work and soon had the ice shattered to the point where she and Zel could dig out. He was free! He stood up, a little gingerly, and was able to walk. "A few bangs I think, nothing too much." he said. Lina hugged him.

"What was that for?" he asked, sinking into the hug.

"For being human, no matter what you think." she replied. He smiled.

They made it back to the hole and the rope, and eventually they both came up. As predicted, they were cold. In the tent the water was just coming to a boil and soon they had a big pot of tea ready, which was drunk quickly. Then breakfast was started. As it cooked they planned the day.

"Well, if Zel, isn't hurt, Miss Filia isn't exhausted, and you, Lina, aren't frozen, then I suggest we go ahead with our plan to fly one more day as soon as we have had breakfast." said Argentus. The others nodded.

"Yes, lets get this over with." said Lina. "I'm tired of being cold. But first, Zel, what did you hear?"

"Hmmm?" said Zel sipping his tea and stirring the porridge pot. "Oh, out there. I don't know, it was on the edge of hearing, and it might have been a trick of the wind that's always blowing around here. But I could have sworn I heard a scream, whether in pain, or fright, or rage, I couldn't tell. So I went to listen. Argentus are their any creatures or monsters that live here?"

The guide replied "Anything that lives here does so on the edge of the ice where it meets the ocean. They need the liquid water to survive. However, the wind can play tricks here, and so can the ice, and the sky itself. Mind you, that's natural creatures, as for monsters and mazoku, or a party of other people, that's another matter, of course. But did any one else hear this scream?" he asked.

Filia shook her head no, and Lina admited she had heard nothing. "Not that I was listening." she added.

"Well, then, if we meet the screamer we will know, otherwise, we must press on and leave it as a mystery for now." replied Argentus. The others nodded.

Again with the packing, and again with Filia as a dragon and they were finally off. Argentus studied the sky and announced "There is a storm coming. And I believe it will cover from here to the pole. But it will be many, many hours off yet. We will make our landfall before it arrives, but it will be hard upon us by then."

"Great, more cold." shivered Lina. "Why do we need the cold anyway? she asked.

"It counter balances the hot equator and sets up the wind and weather. No poles and equator, no rain for crops, no wind for ships, no sunny days for work, or play." replied Argentus. "Face it Lina, we are in a place where people weren't meant to live. So let us be thankful it was here that the cold was stored."

"Yeah, yeah, everything is beautiful in it's own way, I remember." said Lina. "Don't mind me I'm just getting cold again. But tell me something, if you know anything about it. Why did the Silver Lord have to build his, or it's, residence here? Doesn't he want to be accessed?"

"I suppose that would depend by who." replied Argentus. "There are beings that would have no problem with this stuff. Humans of course would be kept out for the most part, but it is possible that they were not meant to access, as you put it, the Silver Lord. Or maybe they were ment to do so by a different method, one they have forgotten perhaps? Put that on your list of questions for when you get there."

Lina nodded. "That's if we get to ask any." she replied.

"Well, we shall see." Argentus smiled at her.

The trip wore on. The white was begining to get familiar, as was flying. Lina dozed as best she could. It felt warmer that way. Suddenly she felt herself being shaken awake. "Zel?" she asked as the chimera shook her again.

"Don't sleep here Lina, it's too dangerous, too easy to drift away and never wake up. Or more's the point wake up to more warmth than you ever would want to." he replied. "If you are cold, wear this." He took his coat off and wrapped it around her.

"But, but you'll freeze too!" Lina said, worried. "No, keep it, Zel. I don't want you to freeze."

"I'm cold but I'll be okay longer than you will be." Zel replied, stroking his blue, stoney skin. "One third blue demon has it's advantages too, and stones don't care about the cold." He smiled at her. "And knowing you are safe has a warmth of it's own too, Lina."

Lina blushed slightly, and looked away. Then she brought her gaze back to Zel and smiled. "So does the care of a friend." she replied, snuggling into his coat.

As the day and the flight wore on Argentus' prediction was born out. The sky began to haze, then cloud, over behind them. Lina was a bit amazed that the clouds were white not black, like a thunderstorm would have been, but Argentus explained that the snow and ice in the clouds were highly reflective. A snow storm was following them. And slowly gaining.

They discussed with Filia if she could go faster without tiring too much and she agreed to try, although Argentus reassured her that they would be down beforethe stormhit in any case. Lina joked with her asking if she wanted a carrot on a stick. She did this remembering how Amilia had tried to either help, or torment, Filia, she wasn't sure which, during the chase with Darkstar all those decades ago. She did it by magically creating a stick with a carrot hanging from it, on a string, and dangling it in front of Filia. To say the least the golden dragon hadn't been impressed then. Nor was she now, even though all Lina did was remind her of it. But Lina's only response was to laugh.

Finally, it began to get very cold as the storm front caught up to them and they were all shivering violently. "We land now and set camp before the storm hits." ordered Argentus. He looked intently, then directed Filia to a space between two low ridges. "The leeward side of the rise will give us some shelter." he explained. The sled was dropped, it bounced a bit, Filia was shivering too hard. Then they landed, and also bounced a bit for the same reason. Well, but they were safely on the ground.

Working quickly, they had the tent up and secured for a storm in record time. They hauled extra supplies in off the cart in case the storm proved too firece to venture out into. It made for more cramped quarters, but the security made them feel a bit warmer. "Well, we may be cold, but we won't freeze!" said a tired Filia as she prepared to enter the tent.

At that moment she was struck frozen, as was the rest of the group. But it wasn't the cold. A great and monsterous scream broke over them like a hurricane of sound.


	12. lChapter12

Filia clasped her hands over her ears and looked down in fright. Lina did the same, except she looked up and around. Zelgadiss didn't cover his ears but he looked at the two women. Argentus was looking south. "Over there!" he said finally, when they could hear again. Storm be damned, the gang moved towards another low ridge that lay between them and the scream. 

"That was what I heard this morning!" said Zel.

"That was pain!" added Lina.

They struggled up the snowy rill to the top. Lina panted "By the gods! I think we'd have made less than twenty miles by now, as the dragon flies, if we had to go over this stuff on land, and I'd be exhausted by now. Thank you for flying us Filia. If I can ever make it up to you, just name it."

Filia smiled. "I am happy I could help Lina. It's curious how fate brought us together just at this time, isn't it?"

"That seems to be fate's job." said Argentus with his usual smile as he lent the girls a hand getting to the top. They looked south.

Down the steep slope they gazed, then out into the plain before them. In the distance they saw a small figure that looked like a stick with a blob on it. Suddenly, the blob moved. "That's a man!" gasped Filia. Without thinking she started down the slope.

"Wait!" said Zel and Lina together, but then Filia slipped and tumbled and landed in a painful heap at the bottom. "Right." sighed Argentus as he began to pick a path down.

The others followed and soon they reached the bottom. Lina helped Filia sit up, made sure she wasn't injured, then smacked her hard across the head. "Ow, Miss Lina..." whined Filia.

"That's a steep slope Filia!" Lina sputtered. "You better be ready to fly us back over it." The dragon girl nodded, still rubbing her head.

"What were you thinking Filia? If that figure is human it will be dead before we can get there, and if it is the source of the scream, no human could make that sound, though Lina is right that it is in pain." added Zel.

"I'm sorry..." wimpered Filia. "My instinct to help took over I think. I'm tired too."

Lina hugged her friend. "We all are Filia, forgive me please."

"That's a first!" chuckled Zel. Lina gave him a curious glance. "Lina Inverse actually apologises for smacking someone! Let the trumpets sound!"

Lina gave him a dangerous glare, then chuckled evily. "I do have my pick axe..." Zel pretended fear as he mimed zipping his lip. They both chuckled good naturedly.

"If Miss Filia is flying us back we may make it before the storm gets bad." said Argentus. With that they started forward.

"Why didn't we see this from the air?" asked Filia.

"We were looking down and back when we landed." replied Zel.

"I'm cold, and I mean really cold, this better not take too long." put in Lina.

They trudged over the snowy ground for many long minutes. As they got closer it became apparent that the man, or so it appeared to be at any rate, had been horribly impaled on the stick, or spike rather, up from his stomach through his back. It had to hurt. But who, and how? And why here? And the blackness. The man was dressed in black, the spike, a good twelve or more feet up in the air, was black. Lina didn't see any blood. The man, or whatever he was, had a cloak on, which had fallen forward, covering his head and arms, making it impossible to see who he was. But Lina's eyes were growing wide as she began to suspect. Finally, as the first flakes of snow were definitely falling, they arrived at the base of the spike.

Lina looked up, and her suspicions were confirmed. It IS you!" she said weakly to the figure on the spike.

Zel also looked up and muttered an amazed "By all the gods at once!"

Filia looked up, did a double take, and sat down hard, too amazed to stand. She didn't even notice. "Namagomi?" she said weakly, the shock evident in her voice.

"Eh?" groaned the figure on the spike. It groaned in pain as it moved it's arms and then the cloak was weakly flipped back. Xellos looked at the crew. "Oh my. Well, this is a, owww, surprise. Lina, fancy meeting you here, and Zel, and our little Filia! And a friend of yours?" he ended, as Argentus walked up to Lina.

"Funny." said the guide. "I was about to ask the same question."

"He's our guide on our half baked dash to find the Silver Lord." replied Lina.

"Ah, well, you are nearly there. I suggest that with the storm that is upon you you don't delay yourselves with me." replied Xellos.

"What does that mean?" asked Lina.

"Why surely you can see that silver dome over there?" asked Xellos, nodding to the south.

Lina looked. "I see more ice and snow." she said mournfully.

"Same." added Zelgadiss.

Filia looked. then she stared. Then she said "Oh! There IS a dome, and it's glowing with a silver light, well, like the moon! But it is more in the Astral plain than the world plain! That's why we didn't see it."

Lina and Zelgadiss looked again, then employed a trick of unfocusing their eyes. Suddenly, the dome sprang into clear view. Once they realised it was there they could see it even with their eyes focused. "By all that's holy..." said Lina in a sort of a prayer.

"We are about three miles from the pole I recon." said Argentus.

Lina turned back to Xellos. What are you doing here?" she asked.

"You already know that." he replied. "I'm being slow roasted to death as torture for telling you. And to this day, I can't figure out what impulse made me do it. Oh well, the joke's on me I guess, no good deed goes unpunished, especially if you are a mazoku, and all that. I only wish I could laugh." He turned to Filia who had finally gotten up and was standing next to Lina. "You must be enjoying this, eh little Filia?" he asked, attempting to sound good humoured.

Filia gave a sudden sob and clung to a startled Lina. "I can't bear to see him in pain!" she sobbed. "All the times I've fantasised about him being in just such a predicament, and now it is here and I can't bear it. Lina, how do we help him?"

"Eh?" said Lina. She turned and hugged her friend. "Oh Filia..." She thought a minute. "I guess we can climb the pole and see if we can get him off..." she said.

"No!" said Xellos witha painful cough. "The spike is pure evil astral energy, it would kill you. Don't any of you touch it."

"What did you mean a minute ago that you are being slow roasted?" asked Zel. "Is that spike hot? I feel no heat here."

Xellos actually did laugh a tiny bit. "No, the heat is from the dome, but you won't feel it. You see, being the Silver Lord's temple, it radiates pure goodness, not the common old garden variety we are all used to, and to a mazoku such as me it is like being right next to a red hot metal plate. Too hot. But this spike won't let me move, and worse, being evil energy, it recharges me, so I don't get to roast to death, atleast, not right away, I just get to roast. Of course being a mazoku I don't char and bubble like a human would, but trust me, I am burning. And, of course, the spike hurts too. Don't mind me, you can't help. If I have earned any small merit in your eyes I beg you to ask the Silver Lord to let me die, that's all I want now. The time of Xellos the Mazoku is over, I'm afraid. Ah well, it was a bad life while it lasted, if you'll pardon the pun..."

"He's right." said Filia softly. "I can feel the good radiating gently and it warms my heart. But we can't leave him there. If I become a dragon I may be able to pull him off."

"Whatever we do we better hurry." said Argentus looking at the thickening snow fall.

"To touch me is to touch the spike!" warned Xellos.

Zel shook his head. "There has to be a way Lina. Remember in the jail where Beastmaster sent you on your way? She said she needed you to rescue Xellos here. So there must be a way."

Lina nodded slowly. "Yeah, save him, or she'd make sure I joined him in death. I remember, now everyone shut up and let me think."

"What happens if we cut the spike?" Argentus quietly asked Zel.

"With what?" asked the chimera, in his turn.

"Cut the spike! That's IT!" said Lina in an excited voice. "Everyone stand back and don't interfere!" She looked at Xellos. "Don't ask me why, I don't understand myself sometimes." she said.

"Eh? What are you doing?" said Xellos, as the otheres looked on, trying to figure out what Lina had in mind.

"We need to cut that spike, but we need to use something that will overcome the astral power and the evil of that spike. I have it." Lina said with a grim determination. She got ready.

"Lina! You aren't going to cast a spell?" said Zel as he stepped forward to stop her.

Argentus put a hand on Zel's shoulder. "I think she's made up her mind, but she knows what she's doing." he said gently.

Zel stepped back with a nod, but he was worried.

"Please be careful Lina!" added Filia.

"You really shouldn't do this for me." added Xellos. "Er, what spell?" he added.

"Despite how it sounds, we have faith in you Lina." Argentus told her.

Lina began to chant.

"Lord of the dreams that terrify!  
Sword of the cold and darkness, free yourself from heaven's bonds.  
Become one with my power, one with my body, and let us walk the path of destruction together.  
Power that can smash even the souls of the gods!"

She took a deep breath. "Hope I can still do this..." she muttered.

"RAGUNA BLADE!" she commanded.

Suddenly a hugh jagged flare of black energy shot forth from her hands. The power of the giga slave, controled. Sort of. Lina concentrated. "Control Lina! Control!" she yelled at herself. Then it clicked. With a swish, the jagged blade became a proper sword, a sword of blackness. Lina walked forward, and swung.

There was a crack, a second that seemed to hang like eternity, then the spike evapourated. In a second, less maybe, Xellos was on the ground before Lina. He howled in pain, but the ferocity of his scream was nothing like the solid wall of sound that had greeted the little party. He landed with a solid thump and lay there.

Lina let the blade dissolve. She stepped back and Zel caught her. She clung to him. "What could I do?" she asked, looking up into his eyes with a look on her own that suggested a frightened deer cornered by the hunter's hounds.

Zel hugged her and stroked her hair. "You did what you had to, Lina, and that's all you could do. I am sorry I doubted, it was right, and I do trust you, but, well, I worry too."

"Oh Zel, that means so much to me..." Lina said as she buried her face in his coat and hugged him for dear life.

Meanwhile Filia had, with slow, almost painful steps, gone forward to Xellos. She helped him sit up. "You live?" she asked softly.

Xellos nodded. "Filia?" he asked in a shaky voice full of genuine fear. "Why am I even alive? And why does the cold now replace the dome for making me burn?" He looked down at his hands, saying "They hurt." Then he gave a gasp. Filia's gaze followed his. Then she screamed.

Xellos' hands were bleeding...

The others ran forward. Zel and Lina stared. Argentus, perhaps not realising the significance began rummaging in his kit for some sort of bandage. Lina gasped. "Mazoku don't bleed! Xellos, what's happened?"

"I, I don't know..." the trickster priest said. I feel cold, Lina, and pain from that little drop, I shouldn't do that either. What HAS happened?"

"Can't you heal yourself?" Lina asked in disbelief.

Xellos was silent for a minute. "I don't have any power!" he gasped. How can that be?"

"Maybe you are too weak after your ordeal?" suggested Zelgadiss.

Xellos shook his head. "No, something fundamental has changed, but I don't know what."

Lina thought. It had to be, but it couldn't be, could it? She took off her gloves and touched Xellos. "You are warm..." she said quietly.

She went on. "This is hard, but what do we have? You are warm to touch, like us, you have no magic, neither do we in our natural state, we have to learn it, you feel cold and pain, like we do, and you can be injured and bleed red blood, again like us. Xellos. I can hardly believe it myself, but only one explanation fits."

"You've become a human..."


	13. mChapter13

Xellos did the only thing he could do, under the circumstances... he fainted. More surprisingly, so did Filia. She did manage to use Xellos to break her fall...

Zel looked puzzled. "That sounds like it should be impossible, Lina..." he said, doubtfully...

Lina replied "Yeah, I know, but listen. I know this is a little shakey. Um, but I just gave you the signs that he isn't a Mazoku anymore. And think, he's been baking in the light of pure goodness, or whatever he called it, for months now. I say months as I am sure he was stuck on the spike the night that Beastmaster rescued me. So, he had been permiated through and through with that light. But the spike gave off dark energy and somehow balanced the light. So, he didn't dissolve, instead, he became a creature in which the light and the dark balanced equally."

"But nothing could happen while the spike existed. Then I cut the dark power off with the Raguna blade, so the holy power of the Golden Lord interfered with the spike and left Xellos high and dry, bathed in the light of good only. So, good took what was there, a living being mixed with light and dark, and worked upon him, and turned him into the only type of creature able to survive this mixture of the good and the bad. A human! Otherwise, he'd have died, but good wouldn't let that happen. I can't think of any other explanation."

Zel thought for a minute. "Me either, but it just doesn't seem right..." he said.

Argentus spoke up. "Not to interfere in this, but have you seen the weather?"

Lina came back to the reality of where they were with a start. The storm was upon them, and it was getting heavy, cold, and windy. She looked around in fear. Their tracks were dissappearing. They had to get back to the tent, and now!

She grabbed Filia and shook her awake. "Come on. We have to go or we freeze to death!" she said urgently. Filia groggily got up.

Zel moved in and scooped up Xellos onto his shoulders. "Well, he weighs enough for a human..." he said.

"This is too unreal..." Filia said. "And I was so warm too. Why did you wake me Lina?" she asked, a bit disoriented.

"So you wouldn't freeze to death!" Or us." replied Lina. Seeing Filia was still sleepy she shook the girl and rubbed her. "Come on Filia, wake up! We need you to get back! Come on, if not for us, then do it for Valgaav!"

With that Filia became more alert, though not fully awake. She struggled to find the way back to the cliffs. But the snows had come with a vengance and soon the crew was lost. Lina turned to Argentus. "Well, guide, now what?"

"We can't stay here." he answered. "And we can't get back. We have no choice do we? We have to go on."

LIna said "On to where?"

Argentus pointed. Lina looked and realised the silver dome was visible despite the storm, strong and clear, like a full moon it seemed, a beacon perhaps? Of what? "Yes." said Lina. "Our only hope now."

Lina turned and went towards the silver dome. As she walked on her steps became slower. Besides exhaustion, many forces were at work. First of all, she was simply in awe of the dome. Argentus had said they were three miles from the pole. It was obvious the dome surrounded the pole, so the dome had a radius of three miles. Or a diameter of six! Thus it had to be eighteen to twenty miles around. And it was a spherical dome, so it was three miles high!

The next thing was the light. The dome glowed with a gentle silver light, you could look at it and never hurt your eyes, yet the light pierced all. The storm might block out the sun that never set in the sky, but it only brought the dome into clearer relief. Behind her, Lina could see the sky was black, ahead, the light shone steadily on in the darkness, unconquered. This was magic of a sort Lina had never known, and she was both afraid, and in awe.

Finally, Lina was afraid of what was on the other side. What if there was no help? What if they angered the dweller of the dome? They had come so far to see this being, now Lina was shaking in her boots, not only from the bitter, bitter cold, but from fear of the unknown. Finally, she stopped, unable to move.

"I can't go on!" she said in a panic. "Someone, help me?" she begged.

Several things happened at once. First, Xellos woke up. Zel put him down and the former trickster priest stood there, trying to comprehend, shivering violently in the cold. At the same time, Filia fell, and was unable to rise by herself. Argentus helped her up, and held her. Zel stood beside Lina, shivering as well.

"We must go on, Lina." he said gently, giving her a helping hand.

Lina tried. She really did. But she couldn't move. She gulped and looked at Zel, and sank to her knees. "I, I can't. I don't know why..." Zel was gentle, but he couldn't move her.

Argentus went forward with Filia. As he passed Lina he said "Lina, it may be your time, but you will not know that for sure until it happens. But even if it is, given what awaits you, do you want to go to death on your knees, or on your feet?"

Lina's head snapped up. "No! you are right Argentus." she said, her voice suddenly strong again. "Death will come soon enough, I will not make it easy for him! Even if I die trying, I will try."

Zel helped her up. "Remember what you said before we fought Shabradnigdo?" he asked. "That even if you only had one chance you still could win? This isn't over till it's over Lina. And I am here too, I will go with you every step of the way. Let's go win!"

Lina smiled. "Yes! Nuts to death, lets get the glory." She smiled. Zel hugged her.

"You're cold!" said Lina with surprise.

"We all are." said Zel.

Lina hugged him as they faced the dome. "Hold me, and I'll do what I can to help you keep warm." she said. Arm in arm, they made their frozen way to the dome.

And it was there they were checked, there was no door. Xellos was so cold now all he could do was stand there numbly. Tired Filia sagged into Argentus' arms. Lina and Zel went up and down the wall of the dome as best they could with the worstening storm blowing against them. "There is no door." said Zel.

Lina went around and around. "We are missing something. The answere is simple, I know it. But we don't see it..."

They tried yelling. They tried pleading. They tried begging. No results. Then Xellos hit upon the answer. Literally.

He stood before the dome, not really comprehending as his mind slowly went numb from cold. In a last effort he raised his fist, and of all things, knocked on the dome. "Oi, let us in, please!" he said.

There was a soft click. part of the dome swung inward, beckoning the desperate travellers. There was light, and warmth, inside. They stared for a second. Then, with the last of his energy, Xellos tottered forward and into the door. Another second and Lina and Zel, again supporting each other arm in arm, tottered forward and inside as well. Finally, Argentus brought Filia. As he entered, there was another soft click, and the dome shut!

The first thing thay noticed was the warmth, the sweet, pure, blessed warmth. Not baking heat, not freezing cold, not sweltering and humid, nor yet arid and dry, but sweet, gentle, just right warmth.

And the light. Everywhere they looked, the beautiful, muted silver light. "I never knew there could be so many shades of silver!" said Lina, as she looked around.

"Nor that all of them together could be so beautiful " said Zel.

Filia even seemed stronger. "It is wondefully quiet." she said softly. And so it was. No wind, no lashing snow, just quiet. But not blankness. If it were possible, it seemed the quiet itself was somehow, well, musical.

Argentus said "There is something ahead. you are tired, I can still go see. Lina, Zel, Filia, and Xellos. Go off the path and lie down on the grass. I'll be right back. Filia, help Xellos, he's very cold." With that he was off. Filia was too cold to think straight, though she was warming up. She helped Xellos off the road, and got him sitting down. Zel and Lina did likewise.

Before they could lie down Argentus was back, with a silver cup in his hands. "There is a fountain. Here, drink, then sleep." he commanded gently. Everyone drank. The cup seemed small, easy to hold, but surprisingly, they each drank their fill and it still wasn't empty. Filia and Xellos collapsed beside each other. Lina and Zel did almost the same, but they remained snuggled together. Perhaps for warmth? At any rate, in seconds they were all asleep.

When Lina awoke Argentus was there with more water. He semed strong and ready to go on, and Lina suddenly realised she was too. "We slept how long?" she asked.

"Two full days." was the reply.

"Strange." said Lina. "I feel fully refreshed and ready to go. I am not hungry, I don't even need to relieve myself. What's going on?"

"We aren't on earth anymore." said Argentus.

Soon everyone was up. Filia was certainly back in form as she realised she had been somehow snuggled into Xellos during the sleep. "Eww! Even if you are human now, and I'm not sure I believe that..." she said, giving him a shove away and a frown. Then she tried to brush off her coat.

Xellos giggled. "Ah, same as always, I see, dear Miss Filia." he sighed. "But yes, Lina is right somehow. I feel like I am a human, so, I'd better not anger the dragon, I suppose. I can't dodge like I used to."

"But do remember dear Filia, we are in a place that is someone's house, I would be careful of my actions if I were you. All of you. Beat up on me when we get out again if you must, but this is holy, I can feel it."

Filia frowned more and said "I got it, I got it, Namagomi!" She stared at him for a few seconds. Then she lowered her eyes. "But I am glad you are off that spike, I could feel the pain you were in."

Xellos gave her a curious look. "So, this is tenderness." he said quietly. "Thank you Filia, I am honoured you extened it to even me."

She nodded, and favoured him with a little smile. "Benefit of the doubt." she said. "Since you are human now..."

"Oh yes. And that's going to take some adjusting to. Thousands of years old, and a newborn, all over again. Well, I will admit to being afraid..."

"Welcome to the world of men." said Lina with a smile to Xellos. "okay everyone, we need to go on. We can't go back."

Soon the gang was moving south again, towards the center of the dome. They were fairly silent as they drank in the total effect of the place. It was beautiful, but it was not anything they had ever experienced before. There were fields and flowers, little rivers, trees, you name it, it was there, in some variation of silver.

As they went they wondered at each new marvel. And so it was that still in wonder they at last came to the pavillion at the center of the dome, and the raised dias with the simple throne upon it. But it was empty...

"Nobody home?" said Lina. "No, I hadn't thought of this!"

Zel was stunned. Filia started weeping. Xellos was confused, but said nothing.

Lina was angry. "All this way, our lives in danger, the lives of countless others at eternal risk, at least there might have been someone here to tell us to get lost. Has this been in vain?" She gave an angry scream. "Hey Silver Lord! Where are you? You have guests in need of your help!"

Zel hugged her, and suddenly she began to weep. After a minute she sniffed and looked up. "I'm sorry." she said. "I'm just an emotional girl, please forgive me."

Zel nodded to the throne and said "Tell him..."

Lina nodded. She turned and went up to the throne. There she bowed, and said "I apologise for my emotional outburst. It's just I've been through a lot to see you, and, well, I had hoped someone would be here, and visible. I don't know why I should have expected that." She then became silent, she had no more to say.

Zel lead her down the dias and they stood facing the empty throne again. Then Xellos went up and said as he went "Sometimes the power is hidden in the throne till someone sits on it. I volunteer if you'll trust me..."

Lina shrugged. Zel sighed and said "Be our guest." Filia stopped him. "Why should we trust him?" she said. "I mean no disrespect, but he was until recently an evil being, maybe if he gets a rush of power he will go back?"

"Then you sit." said Xellos with a smile.

Filia hesitated, and looked at Lina. Lina shrugged. Filia sat down.

All the way down. With a bang. "It's only silver light?" she said painfully as she got back up. The others tried too, just in case it was that the throne would only hold one particular person, no one succeeded. Not Lina. Not Zel. Not, finally, Xellos. They went back down the dias.

Lina looked crushed. "I guess this is over then." she said quietly. The others were quiet for a long time too. "Maybe he's just out for a bit?" one of them asked. Lina replied. "Well, we can't go back, no supplies, the cold, everything. We are stuck here. So, if he comes home we will be here, though whether alive or dead, who can say..."

The others nodded. "Well, I get a second chance at death it seems." said Xellos with his usuall good natured giggle.

Lina gave a small smile. "I guess I better get used to this paradise of silver. I'm going to be in a lot of red pain, I'm sure, when it's over."

Zel shook his head. "Next time, we book an appointment. Hey, by the way Xellos. How did you know to knock at the dome to get us into here?"

"I didn't." said Xellos. "It just seemed the right thing to do."

Filia started weeping quietly. "What will happen to Valgaav now?" she blubbered.

Lina laughed. Filia shot her a dirty look, but Lina hastened to explain "No, you reminded me of Valgaav, which reminded me he's with Luna, which made me recall what Luna said. There is a saying that goes with this. "Seek and you shall find, Knock and it shall be opened to you, Ask and you shall receive." I remember her saying that. Well, we have sought and found. Thanks to Xellos, we have knocked, and opened. Here's the irony. No one is home to ask, and receive from..." She turned and saw Argentus standing there, looking the same as usual. "How cool can you get?" she thought to herself.

She spoke to him. "Well, here we are. And we have seen what we can see. Wasn't it here you were supposed to claim your fee for helping us?" Argentus smiled and nodded. Lina asked "What was it you wanted?"

"Only your trust." he replied gently.

Lina laughed. "You went with us to what looks like death, to get our trust?" She looked at the others, but spoke to Argentus. "Well, I think I can say, for all of us, that you have it." The others nodded.

Argentus' smile broadened. "Good!" he said with friendly enthusiasm. "Let us begin."

With that cryptic phrase, he finally walked forward and ascended to the throne as the others had done. Like them, he looked at it for a second. And like them, he turned and sat down on the throne.

It held... 


	14. nChapter 14

OOC: I appologise for the posting delay, I had a sick family member and things got slowed down over the summer. But I'm back at it now!

Four faces stared up at him with utterly dumbfounded looks. Then, almost as if they had rehearsed this moment, they sank to their knees and bowed their heads before him. A gentle sigh drifted down. "Oh stop groveling, it's so undignified..."

They got up, but now they couldn't bring themselves to look at him directly. "Now what are you doing?" he asked with a bemused tone. "Averting our eyes, uh, oh Lord?" replied Filia shakily. "Well stop it!" came the command back. They looked up at their guide. He stood there, a welcoming grin, or maybe it was a smirk, on his face, and he now glowed with a silver light. Lina had thought him handsom before, now he was down right beautiful.

"Right!" he said. "Now Lina, you didn't forget "Argentus" mearly ment "Silver" in another language did you?" he chuckled.

Lina blinked and seemed to get over her shock. "No, but I didn't realise how it tied you into our quest...my Lord?"

Argentus, or perhaps more correctly, the Sliver Lord, nodded and said "For now." He then returned to the throne. He gave it a pat "Don't feel bad." he said, looking at Xellos. "It could never hold you, it is made only of light. But you are creatures of substance, beautiful matter, frozen energy." He looked at them for a minute longer, a gently, perhaps fatherly, smile on his face. They relaxed.

As everyone breathed easier again the Silver Lord went on "First question, what am I doing here? Simple answer, I wanted to be found, and I knew one day a human would be ready to look for me. When I realised that Lina was finally the human to start looking I also realised she wouldn't make it without help, so, I helped. Now, why was it important that you looked for me, and that you struggle through hardship in your quest, and not that I just came to you? Because mankind wouldn't be ready to accept what is about to happen until it was ready to look for me at any cost, so, I had to wait for you, collectively, to become ready. And just to set the record straight, Lina was not appointed from the begining of the ages, it was left up to you humans to decide both if and when you were ready for this, and then to produce the one who would come. Still, you made a good choice." He gave Lina a wink.

"Th-then, who are you?" asked Lina, her voice quivering, but her courage strengthened by that wink.

The Silver Lord smiled. "To answer that question in full would take eternity, for indeed, I AM eternity. And where to begin? So much have you forgotten. But an answer is needed if you are to understand."

"We will start with a bit of theology. Ultimately, God is one, unity, all. But to become concious, to become aware, even of itself, unity has to divide within itself into polar opposites. North/South, for example. Positive/Negative, or Light/Dark are other examples. The ultimate pairing is Male/Female. It is the most important, for without that, there would be no life, no life at all. And each pole has it's own personality, I am one, she whom you call the Golden Lord is the other, and it is when we work together that we express the one. Of course, there is more to it, but you aren't ready for it, yet. But I promise you this, children, one day you will be, so compose your souls to patience. You see, you are all bound for eternity!"

"So, the next question, who are you? Simple. You, all of you, and many others you don't even know about yet, are our very much wanted and loved children, beings with whom we desire to share an eternity of love. You are in the process of growing up to become almost like us. Almost, but not quite, you will still have, at the end, your own individualities intact. Or what was the point in giving you your own personalities if we were only going to re-absorb you in the end?"

"So, by this you may know the rumours that the Golden Lord awoke one day to find that she had produced substance from her chaos without knowing how, are false. For one thing, we don't sleep. More importantly, it was both of us together who produced all of you, not just her alone. And we were fully aware every step of the way.

"Then how did things come to the point where this truth, and many others, were forgotten?" asked Zelgadiss.

The Silver Lord smiled sadly as he replied. "As part of your own individualities, you were given free will. Since you have free will you have the right to do whatever you feel you need to do to work your way along the path of growing up. That includes the right to make wrong choices. However, will isn't free, unless it includes responsibility. The responsibility of accepting the consequences of your own actions. Consequences such as forgetting the truth if you must follow lies. Or another example, if you freely overlook the wording of your spells, you are responsible for paying the Mazoku their price. And many of you have."

Lina shook her head. "But what of us who didn't know? Have you helped us get here just to tell us there is no hope? What sort of god or father does that?"

The Silver Lord gave her a serene smile. "One who is making a point."

"So," Lina gulped, "There really is no hope?"

"When did I say that?" asked the glowing figure on the throne.

"Lina, we must not jump to conclusions in this." whispered Xellos.

Lina nodded. "I-I'm sorry, I'm just so scared and, well, this is what we came for, and, well, we don't feel like children, we feel scared." She looked up to the god.

He smiled "But, you are children, and ultimately, children are not held liable for their contracts. Thus, I can, and have freed you, now. And I mean you personally Lina, and you too, Zel, you are free of the debt to the Mazoku as of right now." Lina gave a happy squeal and tears of gratitude sprang to her eyes.

The Silver Lord continued. "But more than this, I mean the human race as a whole. I allowed the Mazoku to think they had been clever in inventing this ruse to get souls into hell to strengthen themselves, because in the end I am using it for my own ends. Because of its massive suffering, the collective soul of humanity is now ready to take the next step in growing up. It is ready to leave magic behind, and turn to internal matters such as philosophy and theology. The magic of the self, if you like. The big questions like "who am I?""

Lina was shocked! "No more magic?" she said.

The Silver Lord said "No, it had its time and place, but the end approaches. Think and feel Lina, you know I'm right."

She did so, and slowly nodded. "The question of "Who am I?" has plagued me all my life." she said.

"More and more, it is plaguing all who live." replied the Silver Lord. "And mankind is ready now to start examining it. But magic, once an allay, now stands in the way, because the Mazoku have made it a vehicle for delusion and deception, and humans have accepted it as such only too willingly. It will not be safe again for many long ages of life, when people understand things I cannot even begin to tell them about now, because the things are too far above them. Right now, the time has come to turn humans away from magic, and onto the path of discovering the self within."

He smiled at Lina and asked "I want someone to lead the way. Interested?"

Lina looked up with excitement. "Yes, I am! How can I help people start the new way, and become free of hell?"

The Silver Lord smiled. "Tell them about it." was the reply.

"Er, but, ..."

"No, it's okay Lina. As I said, people are ready to hear this. Now, not everyone will want to, right away, and not everyone will accept it, at least in this life, but many will. And those that accept and will pray to me, I will clean them of their debts, as long as they have faith in me, which means they must avoid magic from now on. And they are to do my will, which is only that they should love god, and treat their fellow humans with respect, doing unto others as they would have others do unto them. Of course evil will still exist, it still has a role to fulfill after all, and not all people will be good. There will be great times, and terrible times for the human race, but these things must be, humans will progress when they hold fast to me, to my wife, and to each other, and uphold the good, no matter how great the evil. It will happen, in the end."

"S- so you are inviting me to give up being a sorceress and become a priestess?" asked Lina.

The Silver Lord gave a gentle laugh. "Basically, yes, though prophet might be a better word. But do not forget that there is more to life than just being a priestess, I want you to live it to the fullest. So, have a life, and just remember to include this as part of it." the Silver Lord said to her.

Lina nodded, too wonder struck to speak.

Zel had a few questions. "How shall we pray to you?" he asked first.

"Just like you are now." was the answer.

Zel didn't get it. "As we are now? Er, then, so, what is prayer? We are just talking."

The Silver Lord chuckled. "Yes, to me. That's what prayer is. Were you expecting some drawn out sort of lame ritual? Sorry..."

Zel got it. He then came to his next question "How will you answer?"

"Rarely by voice, it is too easy for people to say they've deluded themselves. And rarely by flashy miracles, too easy for the dark side of things to counterfeit. But in the way that is best, and at the best time, the answers will come."

Zel nodded. "Makes sense... What about those now trapped in hell?

"They will be let out, and start being reborn, so they can have a chance to accept the new way."

Zel nodded, suddenly unable to speak. At least Amilia wouldn't be trapped there forever. He was grateful.

Filia asked "What about the dragons? And what about Valgaav?"

The Silver Lord looked at her with a twinkle. "Let me show you something." He held his hand and the light in the room dimmed, but the floor came alive. A symbol glowed on the floor, composed of two teardrop shapes swirling around each other, like they were on a disk. They were white, and black, and the white one had in its center a black dot, and the black one had a white dot. From the point at the very center of the rotating disk came a long slender cone of light that reached to the ceiling. At that point it had widened enough to entirely support a larger disk.

The Silver Lord explained. "This is the symbol of the plane of existence you inhabit now, the plain of the Path, or the Way. All of you, humans, elves, dragons, and even the mazoku and those you call gods, live on this plane. Spiritually speaking, the more powerful beings live farther out on the disk, for example, the mazoku." As he spoke the outer third of the disk illuminated briefly. "Then the dragons, the elves, and those like them." The middle third illuminated. "And then the humans." Now the inner third shone briefly. "And finally, the stairway of transition." Now it was the cone's turn to glow.

"Here's the way it works. You start, as spiritual beings, at the outside and work your way in, trading outer strength for spiritual perfection, finally reaching the center where you can ascend to the next plain of existence, in this case the one you call the Astral plain. "Now the larger disk at the ceiling shone briefly. "All spiritual beings move this way through every plain of existence, becoming more elevated and loftier with each ascention until you reach the last stage when you will have made it to spiritual adulthood. The plains do not go to infinity because then you would become too much like us and simply be re-absorbed back into us, not what we want at all. But rest assured, in the end you will all be glad to not advance any more than you do, because you will love being alive and individual."

"So here is how it applies to you Filia. You have a rare opportunity, because of the decisions you have made in your life already, to jump ahead. The decision is yours but you must one day, in some life, become a human if you are to advance to the center. Now, you can do it the usual way, namely to live until you die. I'm afraid that that will be while you are very young in this life, as those that hunt you will not stop until it is so. Of course, after you die you will be reborn, and you will do it again and again, until you become a human and then work your way in until you reach the center.

But in this case, in this life, you have a chance to be a symbol of hope to your race, and become a human in this life. As for Valgaav, what you decide for yourself, you decide for him. If you prefer physical death, he will die with you. If you become a human, so will he."

Filia was staggered. "I, I don't know what to do!" she gasped, fear in her voice.

"Take your time to think about it." was the Silver Lord's reply. "I will tell you how to do it, and you can decide what you want to do. Know this though. This is for you and only you, no other dragon trying this will succeed in becoming human like this."

Filia looked up and nodded. "Okay, I can decide? Then I would like to know how, I will think about it."

"Yes, think carefully" the Silver Lord replied. "Dying young and being reborn a dragon isn't bad, and becoming a human isn't better or worse, in the end you will make it, and you may very well decide going around again is worth more, so think carefully. But you will not have forever to decide in this life, and there are some advantages to becoming human too. If you want to become human you must take a human husband, and love him on your wedding night in the form you are in now. When you awake in the morning your tail will be gone and you will know you are a human."

"Now, as for Valgaav, simply make sure you place his egg in the same room you will share on your wedding night with your husband. In the morning his egg will be gone, but rejoice! He now grows to human babyhood under your heart, and in the fullness of time, as humans recon it, you shall give birth and look into his eyes again. When you do that you will know he is the son of your husband and of you, and yet he is also Valgaav. Love him and raise him as the human he now is, and all will be well with you. Do not fear, little Filia, I want you to succeed, and I will support whatever you decide, but I wish to give you this option, for I know you will learn from it whether you accept it or not."

Filia was visibly shaken. "I, I don't know what to do, but I will think on it. I have learned so much, maybe too much today. I need time..."

There was silence as all who stood there absorbed what was going on. Finally Xellos broke the silence. "So, how do I fit into this?" he asked.

"How do you want to?" asked the Silver Lord with a knowing smile.

Xellos thought for a minute. "Trickster, or not, I have been a priest all my existence. I would like to use that somehow now to help Lina, and repay a small bit of the debt I owe for my past deeds."

"Then, so you shall." replied the Silver Lord. "You shall show yourself to the mazoku at every opportunity and tell them your tale, that they may be afraid, and also that they may start to remember they are on a journey as well. But, as with Lina, it is not the end all and be all of your life, live it to the fullest and you will be blessed."

Xellos smiled at that. "With all of my now warm and beating heart I will do so, my Lord!" he said enthusiastically.

Finally, Zelgadiss found his voice again. "And what shall I do?" he asked.

"Ah." came the reply. "I did not finish what I was saying to you Zelgadiss, my child. I let you have some time to calm yourself before laying on you your path. Support Lina, of course, and also marry again, and have a child. For I will give you a miracle similar to that of Filia's, if she accepts it, and by this both the living and the dead will be blessed. The child you have will be that of you and your wife, but you will look in her eyes, for it will be a daughter, and you shall realise it is also Amilia, released from hell to her next life."

Lina looked at Zel and saw the tears of relief and gratitude in his eyes. Not knowing how else to help, she hugged him as he wept his thanks for Amilia's release from the torment she was in now.

After he calmed down the Silver Lord continued. "She will be the first of all those in hell to be released, and though it will not empty in a gush, lest the earth be overwhelmed, eventually hell shall empty of those trapped by the mazoku's trick, and the mazoku, and the gods also, will be broken. Then they will finally start to make their way to the center, and finally they will all ascend to the next plain. As the last one, a mazoku, does so, it will destroy this plain of existence and release it's energy for the next levels. So in the end, the mazoku will indeed fulfill their desire to destroy this world, but not as they intended, for they intend based on their ignorace of things."

"But as for Amilia, she will be a sign to those in hell, for they will hear of the coming of the day of release, and will look for it, and when they see her taken up out of the fires to be reborn they shall rejoice mightily, despite their pain, for they will know the time has come at last that they will be delivered."

Zel marveled. "You will tell them that?" he asked in wonder.

"No." said the Silver Lord. "You will."

The room went silent. Lina responded first. "What do you mean?"

The Silver Lord replied "You four will not be going home with the ships, I have a mission for you, a task by which you may learn to trust me. You will leave from here, and make your way back to Seirune, through hell itself."

There was a collective gasp from the table.

"You will go to the pit itself and preach to the captives that they are to be freed, and you will tell Amilia she will be first. The others will then look to her and will wait to see the miracle of her being taken up, and they will know."

"Wait!" yelped Lina. "We came here to avoid hell, and now you send us there? Oh gods! Beastmaster and Xellos! have you tricked us? Your words! what you say. So perfect, so knowlegeable. You appear so handsom and kind! Easy to trust! And I believed because I wanted to. But you send us to hell? How can I trust you now?"

Xellos spoke up. "Lina, I was part of no such trick, and I am in truth a human now, the evil burned from me by the power of ultimate good coming from that dome. I cannot make you believe this except by my red blood and warm heart, but I can tell you, this is no mazoku trick."

"Or you are lying like you never have before!" said Lina, shaking.

Filia spoke. "If it is a trick they are tricking me too, Lina. What shall we do?"

Zel added "I want to trust, for Amilia, but to send us to hell?"

Lina looked at the Silver Lord fear on her face, almost panic. She knew she was over reacting, but couldn't stop it. "You want us to trust you and you would send us to hell? Are you lying to us? How can we trust you now? Before this, we didn't even know who you were! We don't know you."

Zel tried to calm her. "Lina, dont lose your head in this. You have been the fearless one for as long as I've known you, well, except about Luna... Remember when we fought Shabradnigdo?"

Lina quavered "You didn't recognise how afraid I was did you Zel? I tell you in all truth, fear has been my biggest motivator! It was fear, rational or not, of Luna that drove me from home. Fear of death or enslavement for myself as well as the world that made me fight Shabradnigdo, and later, Darkstar. It was the fear of losing Gourry that drove me to fight Hellmaster, fear of further attacks that made me go to ground, and fear of intimacy that made me drive Gourry away, and remain a hermit in my hole. Then Xellos shows up and begs a favour, and in the end it turns into yet more fear, and it drives me to the end of the world to find the answer, and now, here, it leads me to the ultimate fear! An eternity of torment! And the greatest torrment of all? More fear! Fear without end! And just when I thought the fear might end, I am to walk boldly into the pit of all fear itself!"

Suddenly, the Silver Lord stood up. Surprised and frightened by this, Lina staggered backward, and stumbled. "N-No! Stay away!"

The Silver Lord gave a smug laugh. "Lina, remember free will? What you believe and do is up to you. But you will bear the consequensces. But answer me this. If I am the monster you are making me out to be, how will you stop me?"

Lina shook in fear. Zelgadiss felt frozen in panic, a rare and unpleasant sensation. Filia clung to Xellos, not even realising it in her fear. Xellos on the other hand, drawing on his wisdom from his Mazoku years was calmer. "Lina, be careful not to over react..." he said quietly and calmly.

"Over react? OVER REACT?" Lina shrieked. "Of course I'm over reacting! What can I do? He wants to send us to the place we came to avoid? And then what? Where is our assurance we will make it out again if we go in? I want to free Amilia, not rush off and join her in the pit as soon as possible."

She glared at the Silver Lord, terrified. He smiled gently back. "Go ahead Lina, try it." he said quietly.

She quavered "I have only one spell that can approach stopping you, and it scares me, but perhaps it is better to risk ending it now, than letting you rule the world in evil, if that's what you are!"

Argentus sighed. "I would comfort you, but you would not be comforted. I would reason with you, but you don't want it either. And I would be angry with you if that would help, but you speak from your self confessed irrational fear. So I will show you insead. Go ahead Lina, cast the giga-slave..."

The others gasped, even Xellos felt fear now. Yet, what else was there? "W-why don't we just leave?" Wimpered Filia.

Lina replied to her "Even if we found the exit, are you strong enough yet to fly us back across that ice? And there was a storm brewing when we came in. And the point is that if we die he is free to try this with someone else. It has to end here. We have to know he is for real!"

The Silver Lord smirked. "A few minutes ago you had no problem believing. But appoint a task that requires some faith, and you go to pieces. Fortunately, I can use this to show you that you have nothing to fear. Go ahead Lina, cast the spell."

Lina looked around. The faces of her companions were the same as hers. There was no way out now, except to go through it. They nodded, fear thick in the air like rain in a raging tempest...

Lina calmed herself as best she could, which wasn't much, then said "Mother of us all, twice now I have called upon your dread aid, in times of mortal peril for the world. Once again I find myself backed into a corner where only your strength and wisdom can prevail. I fear for the world from this Silver Lord being. Oh Lord of Nightmares, destroy not the world, I beg, but rather destroy me personally in your own hell for eternity if I am wrong, but I call upon you now to defend us all, for I know not what else to do."

Her prayer done, Lina, a tear in her eye, and a quiver in her voice from the strain, took a deep breath and chanted.

"Darkness beyond blackest pitch,  
Deeper than the deepest night!  
Lord of Darkness, shining like gold upon the Sea of Chaos,  
I call upon thee, swear myself to thee!  
Let the fools that stand before us be destroyed, by the power that you and I possess!"

A dreadful pause as a deep breath was taken by Lina, no one else daring to breath...

"GIGA SLAVE!"

The spell was cast... 


	15. oChapter 15

Lina gathered the dark energy in her hands like a giant ball, then thrust it out, straight at the Sliver Lord. She then collapsed and only Zel's quick action prevented a fall.

Meanwhile, the black energy sped towards it's target. Strangely, it slowed as it flew, and even more strangely, it took on the shape and sillouhete form of a woman, a lovely woman with long flowing hair. Then, as the amazed onlookers stared, the form landed in the Silver Lord's arms, and as it touched him it snapped into full colour, and was revealed as a stunningly beautiful woman with long blonde hair. She did a perfect landing into the arms outstretched to greet her, and as the Silver Lord hugged her to himself, she gave him a sweet kiss.

The others were shocked speechless by all of this, except Lina, who stared at the woman, a strange look on her face.

"Hail, Oh Golden Lady!" said the Silver Lord with a tone of holy awe. "Well Met, Oh Silver Lord!" she replied, pure worship in her voice. Then, still in his arms, she looked to Lina, a gentle smile on her face and asked "Thus in love I greet my husband, Lina Inverse. Are you pleased by this?"

Lina stammered "I, I-I know you..."

"You WERE me." came the bemused reply.

"Yes..." Lina whispered. Then "I, I think I remember now... we passed as you entered my body, and I, I was floating in pure bliss..."

"You were absorbed back into the chaos from which all things have come." the Golden Lord replied, still cradled in the Silver Lord's arms. "Absorbed, but not forgotten, or else you could never have been sent back when Gourry showed himself worthy of rescuing you. Alas that it turned out as it did, but, even then I knew. I wept for the love you two had, Lina"

Zel spoke up, obviously nervous "Pardon me, my Lady, how came you to weep? I thought you had told Hellmaster your mind was your power, and in the purity of your mind you were strongest? Surely weeping is of the heart?"

The Lord of Nightmares smiled a very non scary smile at Zel. "I said I was strongest when my mind was pure, yes, and I meant that when I operated only in thought I was at my most powerful, in my own right. That phrase had a different meaning for Hellmaster, by the way, but it was for him to work with, so I will not explain it to you now. But, I never said I couldn't or didn't feel emotion. I do. You saw the symbol of the Way that was on the floor a few minutes ago. I am the dark shape, and my Lord is the white. Yet buried in me is the power of the white, the masculine, just as buried in him is the power of the dark, the feminine. And as our children, so it is with each of you."

"My mind is my power, My Lord's heart is his, but we work together, being the masculine and the feminine principles of the unity of true god. We are one and the same, even while we are different. Is this hard to understand? It is because you have much to learn yet, but peace be with you, you will understand one day, and rejoice." With that, she swung down off the Silver Lord's arms and stood upon the ground.

Lina, still a bit shocked, babbled "oh, your feet are bare..."

The Golden Lady laughed. She walked over and kissed Lina gently, motherly, on the forehead. "And with what would you have me shod, my daughter?" she asked softly.

Lina suddenly felt her fear drop away. "Nothing, Lady Mother." she replied. "I was just surprised, though I don't know why it should be so that I am." Suddenly, she gave the great Lady before her a spontaneous hug. It felt so right somehow...

The dread Lord of Nightmares certainly presented a mixed up picture. The great and terrible, dread Lord of Nightmares herself, the living power of the giga-slave itself, the most potentially destructive force ever, was hugging little Lina Inverse and gently stroking her. "Lina," she said quietly, though all could here. "I love you, for you are my child. I love all of you. I am, in the ultimate sense, your mother, and behind me is your ultimate father. We wouldn't ask you to do anything that was bad, nor would we appoint you a diffucult task that we wouldn't be ready to help you do successfully. Have we regained your trust?"

Lina looked up, an open, honest, childlike trust on her face. Zel gulped, Lina had always been pretty, but that look made her look, well, beautiful! Xellos smiled, and Filia found herself relaxing into the moment. Lina looked up and simply said "Yes."

"Is there anything we need to know about hell before we go?" asked Zelgadiss in a quiet voice. "How will we know the path, for example?"

The Golden Lord smiled over at Xellos.

"I shouldn't worry about that too much if I were you Zelly boy." he replied with a chuckle. "Some of us are all too familiar with that place. Still, it will be nice to never have to go there ever again once this mission is finished. It's the sort of place only a Mazoku could love, I'm afraid."

Zelgadiss cocked a perturbed eye at Xellos over the phrase "Zelly boy" then chuckled. "I can only agree with you there, fruit cake..." he replied.

"Well, aleast it isn't "garbage" eh Filia?" Xellos replied, chuckling too.

Filia sighed "Leave me alone..."

"Well, are we all ready then?" asked the Silver Lord. The affirmitive was given. "Good, well then everyone, in that case... Go to Hell!" he laughed.

There was laughter, and bravery for the task awoke in the four hearts. The Silver Lord beconned them to follow him, and the group set off, the two gods leading. As they moved a faint hymn seemed to come out of the ground and slowly grow in volume. Soon it was evident that they were surrounded by the singers on all sides as well as above and below. Soon the beings were becoming visible, beautiful men and women, angelic in their loveliness.

The hymn swelled in both volume and grandure, until it caught up all who listened to it. Lina wasn't sure when but eventualy she realised she wasn't walking any more, she was floating, and dancing, now with Zelgadiss, now with Xellos, now even with Filia. Ahead of them the Golden Lady and the Silver Lord were also dancing, and the angelic beings too. Yet is seemed right, even more natural than walking.

Somehow, she ended up dancing with the Silver Lord himself. "A faint rememberance of life on the other side, Lina. The beings you are thinking are angels are infact human souls awaiting a re birth. You see, after each death you do spend some time in heaven readying yourself for the next life. Only those trapped in hell haven't the chance to renew themselves. But you are going to change all that!"

"And this dance you marvel at is but a human representation of the cosmic dance in which everything interacts with everything else. In this dance, a grain of sand can partner with a star. I wanted you to know this, so you could remember what is here, and sooth your fear. Death is but coming home for a visit..."

Lina smiled, and opened her mouth to thank the Silver Lord. Suddenly she realised she had started to sing the hymn that was all around. Funny, she hadn't known the words before now, yet suddenly, she knew everything about the music, it was more natural than talking. She sang with unbounded joy for what seemed like an eternity and like no time at all.

Then they were at the gate, and reality, as they knew it, was before them once more. There were last hugs, and Lina looked as hard as she dared into the faces of the gods. Somehow she knew she wouldn't see them again in this life. Finally, they were through the gate. The Lord and Lady smiled a final blessing upon the travelers, and the door swung shut... 


	16. pChapter 16

The four travelers stood there for a long moment, looking at the door. Somehow, they knew that if courage failed and they knocked upon it, it would open and they could return to the light and bliss they had just been surrounded in. But, as they stood there they knew their mission was before, not behind, them, and slowly, the needed resolve grew in each of them. Finally they turned and faced down the dark path that decended into the pit itself...

"Well, no time like the present, I guess." said a hesitant Lina.

"You are right, of course." replied Xellos. "Come, it is up to me to be the guide, I will go first." He walked forward into the gloom. "I do wish we had some light, though..."

Suddenly there was a clatter, and Xellos pitched onto the ground. "Owwwwwwww..." he moaned.

"Are-are you okay Xellos?" asked Lina coming forward. "Oh, if only I dared use Lightning..."

"What's this?" asked Xellos in a surprised tone as he felt the thing he had tripped over. "Why, it's, it's my staff..." He held up the familiar crooked stick and was amazed. "Beastmaster broke this and tore the jewel out..." he muttered.

But, there it was, as good as new, and now it was a real stick, not a creation made of his own energy, like before. He stood up and looked at it closely. Suddenly, he started to laugh. He showed it to Lina. She stared in amazement, then a smile came to her face and she started to giggle too.

"And the joke is?" asked Zel, and a puzzled Filia nodded.

"Look at the jewel." said Lina quietly.

"It used to be a ruby." added Xellos.

Now there was a clear glass sphere, and inside it, as if alive, swirled two tear drop shapes. They were just like the black and white ones that the Silver Lord had shown them, chasing each other around on the floor, only, these were three dimensional, and they were silver and gold...

"So," said Filia quietly. "even here, they are here with us..."

"Yes, they are..." replied an awestruck Zelgadiss.

"May we have some light?" said Xellos to the staff. The silver tear glowed, and a glow like moonlight on the night of a clear full moon filled the chamber.

"Holy gods..." said Lina in a whisper. The others turned and looked at her. "I just got it! The moon and the sun! The sun shining steadily with a golden light in the chaos of the blackness, like, like a pure mind. And the moon, circling us protectively like a parent's loving heart, now shining brightly with its love full on us, now shrouded in darkness to remind us how empty life is without the heart, without love...". She explained. "They made those things as symbols to remind us they are there. The truth has been shining upon us all the time, and we forgot..." She sank to her knees for a minute. "Thank you..." she whispered.

Then she got up, a new resolve in her eyes. "Right. Lina's gotten over her fear of this mission. Let's go!"

"YES!" assented the others.

Xellos, staff, and light, in hand, walked forward, leading the way. Lina went beside him, and they were followed by a very thoughtfull Filia. Zelgadiss brought up the rear. At first the path was easy enough, but it began to become steeper, rockier, and more difficult. They had to pick their way along in places. But the path lead on clearly enough. "It will be a single path until we reach the river." commented Xellos.

"River?" asked Lina.

"Yes, the river Styx. It's waters are bitterly cold, too cold to swim or drink, and any who try are trapped there in such pain that there is no help for it. It is to provide a barrier to stop anyone entering, or more importantly,leaving, that it was made, and it works the same for the living or the dead. A rare combination effort by Dynast and Dolphin. So be careful."

"The cold and the water, figures. Never heard of it before. How does anyone cross?" said Lina.

"The boatman will take you, if you can pay his price." replied Xellos.

"What price?"

"Well, usually it's a good meal, which being he's a mazoku means a lot of terror on the part of the ferry passengers. He tells them the horrors that await them, and most of them are in tears by the time they get to the far side. And we are talking screaming in terror kind of tears. The worst part is, he usually just tells the truth..."

Lina gulped.

More hard scrambling, but eventually, or all too soon perhaps, they made it. There before them flowed a river. Where the light of the staff fell on it the river looked an icy silver, otherwise it was a cold black flow, barely distinguishable from the black landscape that it ran through. Lina shivered just looking at it.

The path lead to a rickity looking dock that stuck out into the river. The travelers walked out onto this and stood there looking around at the bleak and forboding scene. "Boy, you mazoku guys went all out on this didn't you?" asked Zel, trying to make a joke to keep their spirits up.

"Actually, we did." replied Xellos, matter of factly. "We wanted maximum extraction of fear and teror, our most important power sources, and designed accordingly. Truth to tell, this place even wierded me out as a mazoku, now it gives me the willies to the point of a screaming fit! And we are still on this side of the river..."

"Not that I want to know, but, where's this boatman?" asked Lina.

"Oh, he's probably out in the darkness watching us." replied Xellos. He suddenly raised his voice and shouted "Right Charon?"

Silence, then, a ripple. Finally a boat, old and leaky, poled by a hideous creature that seemed little more than an animated skeleton moved into the light. "Well, well..." it rasped in a dry, horrible voice. "Xellos. Ha, ha, ha, Xellos the dead! I never dreamed I'd have the honour! And who is with you, traitor? Do my eyes deceive me or is that the bane of all monsters, the ever annoying, flat chested wonder of the age, Lina Inverse, at your side? Bringing her along are you? Well, the more the merrier! Oh, and a real prize! That has to be a golden dragon! With a prize like that, they almost might go easy on you! And finally, a genuine Chimera. Well, he should be tougher than most, good sport in him I doubt not!"

Lina frowned. It had been a long time since anyone made fun of her breasts, and yet it still hurt, much to her surprise. But before she could reply Xellos did.

"Well, as for that, you have spent too long on the river, Charon, if you can't smell blood anymore. No one here is dead."

The boat slowed as the ferry man hesitated. "I thought you were..." it hissed.

"Well, as a mazoku I am quite dead." replied Xellos. "But I am now a human, and as alive as the rest of us standing here are. BUt enough pleasant chatter, land your craft, boatman, we need to cross over."

"Impossible!" yelled the boatman with suspicion and fear in his voice. "Lord Beastmaster wouldn't have made that mistake and left you alive! You lie! You must be lying!"

"It wasn't my mother who saved me, Charon. It was my father, my true father. And yours." responded Xellos calmly. "Now, please land the boat."

"What... father... you... ?" The figure was perplexed. "This is some sort of a trick. Ha, I'll fix you for it, you can all stay and rot! Then when you are hell bound ghosts, then I'll take you across..."

The others bristled, but Xellos stayed calm. He even smiled. "Charon my old friend, you aren't thinking. Who's temple did she impale me outside of? I, and those with me, have all been with the true father of all, even of the mazoku. I've danced with the Silver Lord and the Golden Lady, Charon. He made me human, and he sent me to the mazoku to remind you that we are all bound for humanity if we want to go beyond. Right now we cling to the underside of the Astral plane like flies, but he reminds us that only through humanity can we ever ascend the stairs to the top side, the side that not even the gods or the monsters of this world know anything about. Rememeber Chaoron, you know I am right."

Impossibly, the skeleton looked thoughtfull, as if remembering...

"I remember what you say." it said eventually, in a quiet voice, as the boat finally drifted to the dock. The little group seemed to relax.

Suddenly the skeleton leapt from the boat onto the dock shouting "BUT I'M NOT READY TO DIE YET!" It swung it's oar as if it were a viscious axe. No doubt the blade of the oar would be lethal. The group ducked and scattered back down the dock.

Instinctively, Zel started to call up a Ra Tilt. Lina shrieked "No Zel don't! Trust them! It's our only hope!" Zel hesitated and the spell faltered and went out. Charon swung his oar again, straight at Zelgadiss. The chimera tried to back out of the way but in the narrowness of the dock he fell over Filia who was moving in to use her mace. They went down in a heap, all tangled up. Charon laughed and moved in for the kill.

He was stopped by Xellos clubbing him on the head with his staff and then shouting in a commanding tone "By the Golden Lord of Nightmares! Stop!" Xellos didn't hurt the old boatman that much, but what did cause him grief was the golden tear on the staff now bursting into light, filling the whole area with light like the sun at high noon on a clear day at summer solstice.

To everyone's amazement, well, except maybe Xellos, their adversary turned into a pale ball with dark spots on its surface. "Oh, his true form..." Lina said.

Indeed it was. Not every one knew the real form of a mazoku was its Astral body, usually a simple geometrical shape. Mazoku Xellos, for example, had been an upside down spinning black cone. His human form had been a deception which he created to allow himself to mingle among humans by extending his power. It was the sign of his being a high level mazoku that he could look exactly like a human, most mazoku, no matter how powerful, were a caricature on the human shape, usually an ugly one...

"Turn it out, turn it out!" yelled the ball as if in pain. "It burns, the golden light, it's too much, turn it out! I'll behave..."

The light gentled back to silver.

The skeletal form now lay on the dock, then slowly got up. It contemplated Xellos for along while, then said, simply, "Get in the boat."

The little party did, and the oarsman stepped into the back and began sculling across the river. It was a tense crossing, in silence. Lina looked once at the monster Charon, and the glare in it's eyes was hatred, and was it maybe, fear? Anyway, whatever it was, it killed any thought of conversation. After an eternity they docked at the other side. "Get out." the horror commanded with hate in its voice. Xellos stood up and smiled at it, innocently shaking the staff. The mazoku cowered. The gang was on the far side now, and the boat shot off and was swallowed in the dark.

"Well, and he used to be such a talkative fellow too..." said Xellos with a sigh.

They surveyed the path in front of them. It forked off right away into two paths. Xellos responded to their unspoken question. "They are both bad, and they both bring you to the edge of the pit... we call this the "Damned if you do, damned if you don't." point.

"How did you know to call on the Lord of Nighmares?" asked Filia.

"I didn't, it just came to me when I needed it." replied Xellos, very thoughtfully.

"He said he'd answer in the way that was best..." added Zel.

"Which way is less worse?" asked Lina, drawing their attention back to the paths before them.

"We take the right hand path." replied Xellos. It's not better, but for living things it's the only possibly passable one. The left ends in a sheer cliff that only a ghost could manage, or someone still using Levitation. But the drop off is straight into the pit itself.

Lina nodded, she understood.

They stood there for a bit, knowing they had to start, but needing a moment to prepare themselves. Finally, without a word, they stepped forward and began the journey to the pit.

Xellos warned them "Remember, you are supposed to be frightened, if you can control your fear most of what is here has no power over you."

They trudged on down into a steep pit that ended in unspeakable muck. The group quailed at the idea of crossing it, no raw sewer smelled so foul. Ideas were put forward about how to walk around it, but there was no way to do that. Eventually it came to the point where they had to admit that the only way was through. They gulped, feeling ill at the prospect.

"I hope we don't choke to death before we get to the other side." said Lina, with a cough.

Then Filia said "I can still use my power, I'll change, and fly us over."

Xellos said "Yes you can, but remember when you get to the other side that the breathable air only goes up about 12 feet, after that the deadly gasses coming off the pit have poisoned the air. This is so any ghost trying to fly out would run into a chokingly painful, unpassable barrier. One good lungfull and you'll join them, dear Filia, so be careful."

Filia gulped, and nodded. "Uh, just turn around okay?" she asked timidly.

"It's cute that you are still shy, Miss Filia." chuckled Xellos as he turned his back.

"I still have my cute mace too..." muttered Filia.

There was the familiar glow and surge of power, and then dragon form Filia told them to climb aboard. "How far across is this thing?" she asked Xellos.

About a league." he replied. "And there are soul devouring monsters that live in the muck, I'm afraid, watch out and don't go too close to it."Filia sighed, and took off, carefully.

Lina asked "If the monsters devour the soul, how to they make it to the pit?"

"Er, ha, well, being as the monsters were my idea, I guess I can answer that." replied Xellos, looking sheepish. You are already dead, so you can't die, you are digested after a fashion, a painfull one of course, and then, well, passed out of the monster. If you are lucky, it is near the other side, otherwise you run the risk of being eaten all over again. See, we do want you to arrive at the pit eventually, but we want you weakened and unable to resist as well when you arrive. so, the paths are passable, at least while moving forward towards the pit, but not nice..."

They crossed almost all of the muck field without incident, but, as they reached the far shore, and began to rise to crest the other side of the pit, a great tentacle whipped out of the ooze and caught Filia a slap in the chest. She reacted instinctively and swooped up as fast as she could, and flew into a low lying section of the unbreathable air. She promptly crashed to earth with her eyes watering and her lungs stinging. The others, who had instinctively held their breath and closed their eyes, were lucky not to join in her suffering. They promptly scrambled off and tried to help as she threatened to cough up her tail.

Xellos looked at the crystal and said "Can you help, please?" Suddenly a beam of pure silver light shot from the crystal and bathed Filia, calming her cough and soothing her eyes. As soon as that was done the beam turned gold and, without anything embarasing happening, Filia regained her human form.

"Th-thank you..." she said to the two gods in gratitude. Then her eyes, still filled with tears, fixed on Xellos, and for a minute the old hatred flashed. "Evil!" she yelled. "Surely there must be a way to do this climb to eternity without it. Without YOU!" she yelled at Xellos. She stomped her foot and turned away from him, then said with a cry "Oh gods! That hurt so badly, I really was afraid I'd die!"

Lina came up to her and said soothingly "Easy Filia, this is hell, it couldn't be helped, but, you still live. And they healed you. It isn't your time, you still have a choice to make remember?"

Filia nodded, still sniffling. She tried to glare at Xellos again, but now a stab of guilt shot through her and she couldn't hold it. "Well, let's get going then..." she gulped.

They trudged on some more. Soon the rock gave way to sand. Shifing, hard to walk in sand. Hot, dry, thirsty sand. Sand parched beyond anything any desert on the top of the world had ever known. The trail dissappeared in the sand and they could only march on. Fortunately, or not, they could see the glow on the horizon that marked the pit, it wasn't like they could get lost, though they might have wished to try...

They trudged along in silence, the air was too dry to talk much, just opening your mouth sucked the moisture out of it and left it feeling bone dry. Finally Zel said "What do we do for water here?"

Xellos replied "Our best bet is to just keep going, there is no water here. The pit is no more than five mile distance from the edge of the muck pit. Actually, this sand only goes a couple of miles and we are about half way there."

With that they trudged painfully on. Lina commented, dryly of course, "And I thought the cold was bad..."

Finally they came to a rise in the ground and crumpled rock, looking like shale, appeared. And, wonder of wonders, plants! Horrid nasty things with thorns like spikes, but still plants.

"Carefull here." said Xellos. "Those plants will tear a strip off of you with their razor sharp and poison tipped thorns. And there are usually stinging and biting things that live in and under them. But the worst part is that they don't just poison the body, they pierce your concience, they sting you with regret, and they bite you with guilt. Of course they are meant to prey on the ghosts who stumble into them blindly in the dark, it may be that the light will keep them away, but be careful..."

The others nodded, hating the place more and more with each step. "You guys must be awash in more power than you can use..." muttered Lina.

"Well, alas, we find new uses for it." replied Xellos. "But it really has to end now, we are getting to be too powerful. The Sliver Lord is right."

"Hmph. I never thought I'd hear a mazoku say that." snapped a still grumpy Filia.

"You didn't!" replied an unusually stern sounding Zel.

Filia looked shocked, then cast her eyes down as she realised the truth. "I forgot, I'm sorry. Xellos, Zelgadiss, Lina, I'm sorry. I'm just so upset being here that I act before I think... Of course Xellos is human now."

"We're all scared Filia, even me. And I do understand. Plus, we do have history..." said Xellos with a sad smile. "Let's just go, be careful everyone."

They stumbled on, for a short walk that would have taken a couple of hours, tops, on earth, this trek seemed forever, and they were tiring. But then, that was the nature of hell.

They were careful, but even so, at one point Lina slipped on the loose stones and went down, pricking her hand on a thorn. Immediately she started to cry. Wail actually, with grief unconsolable. "Lina! Are you hurt? What's wrong?" asked a worried Zel as he knelt down to comfort her.

But Lina wouldn't be comforted. "Luna! Gourry! I-I'm sorry! I'm so sorry, for everything!" she cried out in great racking sobs of grief. "Please, please forgive me, it's my fault. All my fault..."

Xellos sighed. "It's the thorn's evil magic I'm afraid. It's making her remember something she regrets and is amplifying her guilt to the point where she is disabled by it."

"What do we do?" asked Zel.

"What we've done all along here, pray." This from Filia, surprisingly.

"Here, you do it!" said Xellos with a smile to Zel.

"Huh? Me? Uh, oh..." He collected himself and held the still quivering Lina in his arms. "S-silver... no," he stammered, then went on "Father. Mother. Lina is hurt and we are unable to help her. Please, you have been so protective of us in hell so far, help us again, we need you..." He couldn't help blushing as he said that, the whole thing made him self concious.

Still it had the desired effect. A soft golden light shone down from the staff and bathed Lina. "M-mommy?" she said softly as she seemed to respond to an invisible hug. She calmed down and her breathing slowed. Finally she shook herself as if waking up. She took a deep breath and relaxed. "Thanks" she whispered, though if it was to the gang or the Golden Lord wasn't quite clear. "I was reliving old hurts I had given to others. It didn't help that I had already been forgiven."

"Have you forgiven yourself?" asked Zelgadiss, gently.

"Hmm, yeah, that's likely it..." said Lina, looking into his eyes. They were soft eyes, full of concern. She softened under their tender gaze. She smiled. "Zel, I think I see how Amilia knew you were human, you have the most human eyes I've ever seen on anyone, even my own mother."

Zel blushed again, then replied with a shy smile of his own "Well, you have pretty eyes too, you know..."

"All better?" interjected Xellos. "Come, we can't stop here for long, I'm sorry."

The others got up and they resumed their trek, being extra careful of their footing. They were carefull, but they were still set upon, as a biting insect like thing of some sort scuttled out and bit Zelgadiss, only to draw back in confusion, then get stomped on for it's efforts. "Looks like a chimera's body comes in handy sometimes." smiled Lina. The thing hadn't been able to pierce Zel's blue demon hide.

Filia had a turn too as a snake thing crawled out and buzzed at her. However, she handled it in true dragon fashion and glared so fiercely at it that it backed off. A short time later a bolder brother actually bit her, but all that did was make Filia so mad she grabbed the thing and tossed it into the nearest thorn bush, which she promptly incinerated with a blast of dragon fire. It seemed a reptile nature had its advantages too.

"Now, why didn't I think of that?" said Xellos, with an admiring tone to his voice.

Filia frowned at him, then realised he wasn't starting something, and slowly smiled. "I don't know if I could burn a path all the way we have come." she said, actually sounding a bit shy. "I'm hungry and thirsty and my reserves are getting down..."

"Ah yes." said Lina. "Tea and cookies."

"Huh?" said Filia, as Zel broke out in a laugh.

"When we first met, well, no, that's when you beaned Gourry with your mace, when we met you in the, to us, "new world" and you gave me Luna's letter. Remember? The one I over reacted to? You set out a spread with tea and said we needed cookies."

Filia slapped her forehead with her palm and said "How could I forget? Ha, ha, that was so long ago now. Oh, and I thought that THAT incident was big trouble." She sighed. "Of course, that's how I ended up being here today, isn't it? I guess the adventure isn't really over yet, is it..."

They walked on for awhile in silence. Somehow it seemed easier now, as if their resistance had caused the wierdness to back off, though whether for safety, or to reform for a new assault wasn't clear. Not that it was much relief, after all, they just drew closer to the pit that much faster...

"Take this how you will, but that light is a godsend." said Zel at one point as they were drawing near their goal. "I could see a blind soul staggering around in this stuff, being stung to death, except they can't die any more."

"Yes." replied Xellos. "We'd have doubtless been dead by now without it." Even as he spoke the ground gave way at his feet.

"Xellos!" the other three yelled in unison as they were plunged into blinding darkness except for the glow from the hole, which suddenly brightened. In a second Xellos floated back out, the staff lit up like a beacon. He gently landed.

"Well, that's an adventure..." he said heaving a sigh of relief. "Look..." he added, holding the staff over the hole. It was deep and dark, but enough light got through to show jagged, razor sharp spikes of rock sticking up from the ground to impale a victim. "Tricky." he said. "That's a trap for the living. I don't remember us setting any of those, this place is learning, and it's out to get us."

"He looked around. "But it's too late. Look." There was a rise in front of them, and the glow of the pit was just beyond it! They had reached the rim... 


	17. qChapter 17

The immediate reaction was, of course, fear. Well, what else would it be? They were at the edge of hell proper, the pit of torment, where all manner of evil and unspeakable things were happening to the haunted souls cast into it. Still, they had to go on, their mission demanded it. They climbed the low rise and looked in...

They discovered there was a lip inside the rim that provided for the actual edge. When they got closer they found that the pit went straight down like a shaft. It seemed bottomless. And the heat that blasted up from it was fierce beyond belief. The only thing that was worse than it was the sound that rose out of the depth. A sound that froze the spirit even as the heat roasted the body.

The screams of souls in agony.

"Over there." said Xellos, pointing. Unbelievably, there was a small rocky outcrop that jutted into the void. "That's where we can address them from." he said.

The gang struggled along, this was not the place to slip, but it was flat and the heat was not intollerable if you didn't lean over the pit itself. They made it. Panting, exhausted, but they made it.

Lina trembled as she said "I never want to come here again, that's for sure." The others nodded. "So, how do we start?" she added.

Zel acted first. He walked over and looked into the pit, his chimeric make up making him a bit more tollerant of the heat. He drew a breath, then shouted "Amilia! Amilia Will Tesla Seirune, Princess of the Kingdom of Seirune! Where are you? It's me, Zelgadiss Greywords. I have something to tell you!"

Nothing.

Lina walked over beside him. "Amilia? Amilia! It's Lina Inverse! You're going to be free Amilia! Come here so we can tell you! This isn't a trick, we aren't here as a torrment, it's for real!" She listened and turned to Zel. "I wonder if they can even hear us in there?"

By now Filia and Xellos had joined them. "I am not going to be able to fly over that!" said a shakey Filia. "That stuff is beyond any dragon fire, I'll burn up, and whoever is with me will burn as well."

"No, she has to come to us." said Xellos in his turn.

"Or you could go to them..." hissed a dangerous voice from behind.

"I knew this was going too smoothly..." muttered Lina, turning with the others to face...

Beastmaster!

In her battle form, of course.

"Lina Inverse, you were supposed to save Xellos, not come here to change things! How dare you!" the war wolf barked angrily.

"This is the doing of the Silver Lord, Beastmaster. I'm sorry, you have been out ranked. As for Xellos, I did the best I could do, and he is alive, even if it is as a human." Lina replied, trying to be as polite as possible.

"You are all too much of a danger for the mazoku race, you who stand here at the pit. Now I must kill you all." She stalked closer to the group.

Xellos stepped forward, putting himself between the Beastmaster and the others. "Mother, stop this, you know we are sent. We, I, don't want to fight you, but we will if we must. Please, even now, you are my mother, and, and... I love you..."

Beastmaster gave a scream and covered her ears. "Shutup! I don't want to hear that!" she roared. Yet, it seemed to Lina as if there was pain rather than hate in her voice. But no time for speculation, let alone amazement, Beastmaster lept upon Xellos, fetching him a mighty blow. He staggered back, dazed and bleeding, and, most horribly, the staff flew from his hands, and before they could stop it, it clattered off the edge and into the pit!"

Immediately, all light, except the evil glow from the pit, went out. Not good, Beastmaster could certainly see by this light better than the others.

Brave Filia was first off the mark, her famous mace was out, and it had a legitimate target. She gave her all in one mighty blow and actually staggered the Beastmaster back from the still dazed Xellos. Lina immediately ran to his side. "Xellos! Xellos! Are you alright? Speak to me, please!"

Zelgadiss, in the mean time, joined Filia. "Stop this madness Beastmaster." he commanded. "You can't win, we were sent here by the Silver Lord!"

"We shall see." said the Beastmaster quietly. She swung at Filia, but was partly blocked by Zel, which gave Filia time to dodge the blow. She swung her mace again, but this time Beastmaster was ready and Filia also missed as her target sidestepped the swing.

There was a few minutes like this as the two attempted to struggle with one who was mighty indeed. Lina was able to get Xellos to wake up, though he was still a bit dazed. Then Beastmaster got the upper hand.

there was a sharp "SMACK" and a dazed Filia thudded to the earth, her mace following the staff into the pit. Zelgadiss, meanwhile, found himself raised into the air with Beastmaster's hand crushingly tight around his throat. She growled in cruel triumph. "You want to find Princess Amilia do you, blue boy? She's in the pit." Beastmaster suddenly swung Zel into a two handed grip, raised him over her head as if he weighed nothing, and, yelling "Go find her!", tossed Zelgadiss into the flames of hell!

Lina and Filia screamed. Xellos shouted and stood bolt upright. He ran at the Beastmaster. "Mother, stop this!" he yelled at her. "If you must kill someone, then kill me, but let these others go!"

Beastmaster turned and glared at him. "If only you'd kept your mouth shut! How could you betray us all like that?" she screamed at him.

Xellos became quiet. "As I said last time you asked that, so I say again now. I didn't realise this would happen, and I really did think she was entitled to a hint. But I say this too, now that I am a human, I am not sorry it did happen. I am only sorry I am losing you as my mother. I really did feel strongly towards you even as a mazoku, and now I am human I can only say that I love you, for you are indeed my mother. Please, mother, let them go..."

Beastmaster seemed to be struggling with something inside. Finally she replied, in a quiet voice, "It matters not, Xellos, I have no choice now. You are all a danger to the mazoku. You will all die, here, in the pit. But if you like, I will kill you now."

She moved forward, intending to grab Xellos and toss him after Zel. But she stopped. She seemed to struggle, and be unable to make herself actually grab him. And to Lina's shock, the look on Beastmaster's face was one of pain, not rage.

Suddenly, a voice behind Lina commanded "STOP.", and a brilliant beam of golden light shot out like a searchlight, bathing Beastmaster in its intense glow.

The mazoku overlord screamed as if struck and fell to the ground. Amazingly, she changed, or perhaps was made to change, from her wolf form to her human form as she fell, and now a tall, lovely blonde woman cowered on the ground at Xellos feet, trying to shield herself from the light and begging that it be turned off.

But what shocked Lina the most was the voice that had spoken. Impossible! Trembling in fear she turned...

Zelgadiss was there, absolutely black from head to foot with char and ash, holding the staff for dear life. From its jewel the golden light of the Lord of Nightmares streamed down on the mazoku overlord. Behind him, and around him, strangely silent, and what was even more eerie, cold and unfelt, the flames of hell itself, which had been down deep in the pit, now shot up into the sky as if trying to out do a volcano for fury.

Zel floated forward, and gently touched down. The light dimmed to its normal silver moon glow. Beastmaster stopped screaming in pain and flopped over on her back, unable to move, now howling in what could only be grief. Xellos knelt beside her, craddling her on his lap in his arms. Filia couldn't take her wide eyes off of them. The fire subsided back to the pit, but a multitude of little flames now began to dance and move around the spit of rock, coming ever closer, but never difting out of the pit itself onto the lip.

Beastmaster began to sob. "I- I couldn't do it, Xellos, in the end I couldn't do it. I couldn't kill you. Why couldn't I kill you? Why?"

Xellos replied quietly "I think you know why, mother, both for this time, and the last time, when you sent Lina to find me..."

She sobbed. "But I can't tell you, it would kill me."

Xellos was silent a long time, hugging Beastmaster, and stroking her hair gently, almost as if comforting a child. Finally he spoke in a low, hesitant voice. "Mother, the mazoku cannot die of old age, they must be destroyed, or kill themselves. But, unless you die, you cannot go on with the journey to the spiritual center of this world so you can climb the stairs to the top of the Astral plain. Are you sure you want to stay any more? Even before any of this happened you would occasionally speak of being tired of being a monster. It is for you to say, but maybe it is time?"

There was another long silence. Filia, Lina, and Zelgadiss could only stare with wide open eyes. Finally, Beastmaster spoke, very quietly. "Yes." she said. One word, and yet in that word was such a sense of relief, as if Beastmaster had finally reached a place of peace in her soul, that all who heard it were amazed. She spoke again. "Yes, it is time..."

Xellos gulped and tears stood in his eyes as he hugged the woman in his lap closer. "Mother..." he said, his voice breaking with grief.

Beastmaster reached up and tenderly stroked his hair and his cheek. "Promise me one thing?" she asked quietly.

He looked down and said "What is that, my mother?"

She smiled, and stroked his cheek again. "Do not ascend to the next plain until I become a human, and when I do, let me bear you again as my son, so I can tell you what I am about to say, and live..."

"It would be an honour, mother, and more than an honour." he smiled back at her through his tears.

"Please don't cry for me, my son." she said. "Instead, be happy that Beastmaster Zellas Metallium has finally continued the long journey home."

Xellos nodded. "I will do both, mother, as a human that is how I must be."

Zellas smiled. "As you must, so do my son." she said finally. "I have no words of wisdom to give you about being human, but I suspect you will enjoy the adventure."

Xellos smiled down at her, but the tears still dropped.

She looked up at him. "Xellos..." she said, and then stopped. She closed her eyes for a time, and a golden glow sprang up in the midst of her chest. She gasped, then said "There. I have spoken what is unspeakable for a mazoku in my heart, there is no going back now, so let me say it with my mouth. Good bye my son, until we shall meet again in the fullness of time. Please remember this, and may it be of comfort to you for the rest of your life, and beyond."

She hesitated for a second and stroked Xellos cheek one last time. The others held their breath.

Beastmaster spoke her last words with great tenderness.

"I love you..."

Even as she spoke she faded, then went still and silent. Xellos immediately hugged her tightly to himself and whispered back "I love you too..."

Suddenly there was a silent, brilliant flash that took several seconds to fade. When it did, Xellos' arms were empty. He stared at his hands, then slowly buried his face in them and wept openly for his loss.

Filia moved first. Perhaps surprisingly, perhaps not, she went forward and took him into a big hug of her own, weeping openly as well.

Lina staggered and felt Zelgadiss put his arms around her as he hugged her tight while she too wept.

For a time, only the sound of mourning was heard on the rock.

Finally Lina spoke. "We mourn for one we feared greatly, and who would have killed us, if she could, mere moments ago. Does anything make sense any more?"

Zel smiled a sad, bittersweet smile. "We mourn because we understand she was only being true to her nature. And because in the end we saw the good in her. Yes, even a mazoku must have a heart, if what the Silver Lord said is true, which it is..." he said, through sniffles of his own.

"All that, and we mourn also for Xellos' loss." said Filia quietly, through her tears.

Finally Xellos spoke. "I weep with sorrow for the loss of my mother, but I also weep with joy that she has finally moved on in her journey." He took a deep breath and stilled himself. "Come my friends, let us complete our mission now." He got up slowly. Drying his eyes he went to Zel and gently took his staff back.

He walked to the pit's edge. The little flames from before still danced around, now uncountable in their multitude. He held the staff aloft and shouted in a strong voice "Amilia! Come here!"

"There is no need to shout Mr. Xellos, I'm here already." said a quiet voice.

It was unmistakeable!

Amilia!

Zel stepped forward, to the very edge of the pit. Lina grabbed him from behind, and Xellos held his arm out to stop him. "Er, let's not try that twice..." he said.

Zel looked around. "Amilia? Amilia! I hear you, but I can't see you! Where are you?"

"Zel!" said Amilia, giving a cry of joy. The little flame in front of them suddenly flared up and danced harder. It flickered and spun around on itself, then, miraculously, it coalesced, and there, in front of them, was Amilia as she looked in life.

It was Zel's turn to weep with sorrow and joy now. "Amilia! Oh, to see you again, how wonderful. Amilia, I love you. I never had the chance to say that at the end, I'm so sorry."

Amilia smiled. "Zel, I love you too. The fires of this place are undescribably hot, but not hot enough to burn my love for you out of me. But what brings you here? I see you live still, how can it be that you are here? And why do you look for me? I sensed you wanted me when you fell in the pit, and I came, as have all the poor souls in this place, for never, since the begining, has such a thing happened."

She turned her gaze back to Xellos, and frowned. "And why is this torturing fiend with you?" she asked, shivering with memories best left alone.

"I apologise, Princess, for what I was, and did, as a mazoku..." Xellos said, his shame genuine.

Lina came forward. "As for that, it is my mission to tell you, all of you, the good news. Amilia, do you know the Silver Lord?"

"Yes." came the reply. "Much that has been forgotten to the living is still retained in our spirits, and when we die the memory returns. Too late, alas. But why do you ask about he who is our true father?"

"I have met him, Amilia, now, in my flesh, and he sent us here with a message." responded Lina. "Amilia, the long wait is over. Your suffering, and I mean this of all of you here in the pit, was not without purpose. The collective pain of the tormented souls in this place has put such a burden upon the yet living, that we are at last ready to take the next step in our journey to the center. To the place were we go to the next level. But to do it we must change. Magic must be abandoned and the inner journey of the self must be started. Now we are collectively ready."

"Listen Amilia, here is what is happening in the future, you are to be released from this place by the Silver Lord, and reborn! Reborn so that you can continue the journey! All of you, you will all be released!"

Amilia staggered where she stood. Or floated. "What do you mean Lina?" she asked, trying desperately to believe.

"What I say Amilia. Everyone here will get out of hell in the fullness of time. It won't happen at once, or else the earth will be overwhelmed, but the Silver Lord promised it will happen. And you, Amilia, you have been chosen to be the first one out."

"What? When? Why me, there are others more worthy..."

"No Amilia, it doesn't work like that. We are all equally worthy in his sight, you are first because we who happened to go looking for him, love you. Listen, here's what will happen. Zel is to take another wife, and she will conceive and bear a daughter. The daughter will be her own person as all re-incarnations are, but at the same time it will be you, carrying on your next life."

"Zel's going to be my daddy?" asked a perplexed Amilia. "Who's my mommy then?"

Zel spoke up "I'm still working on it, but she will be special, you can count on me."

Amilia stuttered "D-do I dare hope?"

Lina returned with "Amilia, look. You know us, and you know we are alive, here, in hell, the first miracle. The staff with the power of the Silver Lord and the Golden Lord, the second miracle. Xellos, who tormented you as a mazoku, now trying to help you, as a human, which is proven by the red blood he bleeds, the third miracle. Beastmaster is dead, acknowledging her love for Xellos, the fourth miracle. Zelgadiss tossed alive into the pit itself, and survives here beside me, the fifth miracle. Believe us or don't Amilia, what more can we show you?"

Amilia was silent for a long time, then softly, with tears in her voice "I believe..."

She was quiet for a bit, then said "I do believe, Lina. I do. Oh the words are so sweet to our ears! We, all of us, will await the time of our release. If I am first, so be it, but let it be for all of us, not just me!"

She seemed to dance. "Oh Zel, if I can no longer be your wife, I will be glad to be your daughter! Chose my mommy well, let her be someone who will love you as well as I have!"

Zel smiled. "I will Amilia, love, I will."

He then got serious. "Amilia, please tell me just one thing, if it is permited. What happened on that peak? Why did you fall?"

Amilia looked sad. "I do not know for sure, my love. It was near that time of the month for me, and I was trying to get some magic fun in with our daughter before I had to stop for a few days. I could feel the weakness begining on that day, but thought nothing of it, it was what I had felt all my life. But that day, something happened, I don't know what, I just blacked out. In the worst possible place too. Alas, my poor family. The pain of leaving you was, and is still, worse than the flames below me, and trust me, they hurt very much indeed. Do not come here Zel, under any condition, let this be your only visit."

She was silent for a bit. "Our children, they are alright?"

Zel nodded. "Yes, and you will have a half brother and a half sister to play with. You will play with our children again, beloved, but as one of them this time."

He smiled. "I love you." He held out his hands.

She approached and held hers out too. For a few seconds it was as if Zel was trying to grasp fire. Then the staff glowed, and suddenly Amilia's hands became solid, just for a minute.

"Until I hold you again in the flesh, my love." Zel whispered.

"Until then..." said Amilia with a smile.

The glow went out, and she returned to flame. "I am sorry," she said, sounding distant and tired now, "but I cannot hold this form any more..." Even as she spoke, her form dissolved, and the little flame they first saw danced before them.

Zel said. "Be at peace Amilia, this is but the sign we are done here and must return to the world of the living and tell others the good news. Besides, if I do not go, I cannot free you from this place. See you soon, my love..."

The flame danced, but could no longer answer.

After a minute, it, and the others with it, sank back into the pit. Zel gave a sob. Amilia was returning to the hell fires.

Lina took his hand and held it, her own tears flowing freely, as they had for Beastmaster. "Come Zel. Let us go, we must get her out for good." she said after a minute. Zel nodded.

Everyone looked to Xellos. He raised the staff again and said "If we have more to do here, please show us, if not, we are ready to go home..."

For the briefest time nothing happened. Then suddenly, the glass sphere dropped from the staff, shattering as it hit the ground. 


	18. rChapter 18

As the ball shattered, so did the vision of hell. Suddenly they were in the inner court of the palace of Seirune!

"AHHH!" screamed Lina. Then she got a grip on herself and giggled. "Well, this sure beats sailing, he, he, he..."

"Home..." whispered Zel. He looked at his hands. Amazingly he could see the imprints of Amilia's hands in the soot that covered him. "It was real..." he said to himself.

Xellos took a deep breath. "Air. I never knew it could smell so good. Mother was right, I will enjoy this adventure." He smiled.

Filia looked around. She still seemed sad, and said nothing.

After a minute there was a pattering of hurrying feet. Suddenly a younger, blonder version of Amilia, well, she was a bit taller too, burst into the room. "Daddy!" she yelled as she saw Zelgadiss.

He smiled at her. "Rubia! Oh I am so glad! I'm home now, and I have news and a tale to tell! Where is your brother?"

They said you were coming home! I didn't know what to make of it. Phil? I- I'll get him now, and the thing they said to get." Rubia sped off again.

Wait!" called out Zel. "What thing? Who said what?" But she was gone.

Some palace staff entered the room, did a double take and retreated again, double time. In seconds, or so it seemed, everyone from the palace was crowding in to look at them. The crowd suddenly parted, and Queen Naga herself swept into the room, just as imperious as Naga the Serpent had ever been. Of course, the fact that she had been preparing for a bath and was in her robe did moderate the effect a bit, but only a bit...

"Well, it's you! Welcome back. Does this mean success?" she said to the gang at large.

"Beyond our wildest dreams, Na... I mean Your Majesty! Wait till you hear!" replied an eager Lina.

"You look care worn, and dirt covered. Join me now in the bath, Lina and Filia, and tell me all about it. That's a royal command by the way." Naga replied.

Servants were sent to lay out robes and towels and all the rest, and others went to ensure the men had a bath ready too.

"Don't be long!" said Queen Naga as the men went off. "We are definitely having a feast after this! And the tale in full for all to hear!"

Suddenly, the gang realised they were hungry! Nothing solid, or liquid, had entered them since the morning before they found Xellos and the dome of the Silver Lord! The healing waters of the temple had sustained them all this time! Even through hell...

But, how long had it actually been?

"Make lots!" Lina yelled at the servants.

Then they were seated in the bath. "Oh, this is almost as good as being in His presence.." sighed a happy Lina as she sank into the warm, healing waters.

Filia also sighed with relief. "I am glad this is a pleasure dragons and humans can share." she murmured as the warm, wet caress of the bath worked its way into her tired and sore body.

"Well?" asked Queen Naga, after they had all soaked a few minutes in blissful silence.

"Where to begin?" said Lina with a wink at Filia, who helpfully suggested "The begining?"

Lina prepared to speak.

Suddenly there was yelling and commotion in the hall!

"A mirror! I need a mirror!" That was Zel!

A knock, no, a pound on the door. "Lina! Come at once you must come!" That was Xellos.

Lina and the others jumped up. "What's going on?" Lina said, bewildered.

More knocks, urgent and insistent. The servants seemed perturbed too.

"Let them in." sighed Naga, as she handed robes to everyone.

Lina threw her robe on and ran to the door. She opened it a crack and said "What's going...?"

Her eyes went wide and she backed away from the door, shock on her face. The door swung open. Zel slowly entered the room. "Is there a mirror?" he asked.

Queen Naga was also dumb with shock. She raised her hand and pointed at the wall where there was a mirror, her eyes as big as saucers.

Xellos guided Zel in and they stood by the mirror. Zel could only stare.

Lina recovered her wits and went to Xellos. "What happened?" she asked.

"His daughter met us outside the bath." began the ex mazoku. "She handed him a vial and told him it had been a secret her mother had been working on, for him. The young girl had been napping before we returned, and suddenly, her dream was interupted by a handsom silver man, and a beautiful golden lady, who told her that her daddy was about to come home and needed the secret love gift her mother had been working on. That's what was in the vial."

"It seems Amilia had come across some partial sort of a formula, and didn't tell Zel, because she didn't want him rushing off, so she worked on it herself, producing a soapy magical ointment. She knew something had to happen before the ointment was used, but she didn't know what it was."

"In hindsight, I can guess he needed to roast in the fire of hell. It burned the curse out of him Lina. And the ointment healed him and removed the soot..."

Lina stared in amazement at Zel, who was still before the mirror, now touching his image, now touching his body.

His normal body. A body of flesh. No more blue. No more stone. Dark blonde hair with a bit of grey, the wire was gone.

The curse had been lifted.

Lina went forward and wrapped a towel around Zel, giving him a big hug in the process. "You didn't even ask to be cured..." she whispered.

Zel turned to face her, joy, and holy fear, on his face. "They know what we need even if we don't ask..." he replied, weeping softly as he sank into Lina's hug.

Finally the tears stopped.

Lina joked "This is going to make finding a new bride for you much easier."

"I don't think the woman I've chosen would have cared, actually." said Zel, with a smile.

Lina smiled back. "Zel, can I beg a favour of you?" she asked shyly. "When Amilia is reborn, can I be an auntie to her?"

Queen Naga interupted. "Reborn? What's this about then?"

It was explained briefly to her, with a promise that the tale would be told in full at supper.

She shook her head. "Reborn! Oh, my baby sister is coming back?" She began to weep in her turn, accepting a hug from Filia, who was watching all this in silence.

Zel spoke. "Lina, about your request, the answer is no."

Lina felt stunned, her happiness draining from her.

"But..." she said quietly, then hung her head. "You are right, after the way I've lived my life, I wouldn't be much of an aunt anyway. Besides, I have my mission..." She sighed through the tears she couldn't help.

Xellos looked uncomfortable, and Filia said, very quietly "Oh Lina..."

Lina turned away from Zel, but as she did he spoke again. "Lina, you are jumping to conclusions again. The reason you can't be her aunt is because I have something more important for you to be."

Life and hope seemed to spring back into Lina as she whirled around to face Zel again. "A big sister? Her teacher? Her, ummm..." she stuttered.

Zel put his now human finger to her lips, stilling her. She looked up, waiting for him to speak.

He said only one word.

"Mother."

Lina paused only long enough to draw breath then lept into Zel's arms, shouting "YES!" in absolute bliss. It was the word. The one word Lina had wanted all along. The one word she never dared let herself hope for, let alone give voice to. And now Zel had spoken it!

For his part, zel caught Lina well enough. He staggered a bit. It wasn't that Lina was heavy, no she was just right, but he realised he needed to adjust to being only normally strong now, the good side of being a chimera was also gone, he was normal in every way, now.

But that was only what went on in the back of his mind. The rest was concentrating on the big, beautiful, wet, sloppy, and oh so blissful lovers kiss Lina was planting onto his willing lips.

Well, she wasn't better than Amilia, that was for sure.

But, oh yes, she was just as good...

"Hang on, hang on!" interupted the Queen. "You plan to bring my sister back into the world throught that, that...

"Plain girl?" said Lina defensively.

Naga paused, then drew herself up. "Precisely." she said."

"Yes." said Zel.

Naga looked, well, disurbed about something, but then gave a sigh and relented.

"No, you are right, I am sorry. I was worried about Amilia not being born into the royal line again, but I realise that's silly. Actually, your choice is excellent, given that I am passed that time of life now." She looked at Lina and gave a little smirk. "Your lucky, if I thought I could have a baby still, we'd be rivals again..."

"And I'd win again!" laughed a now relieved Lina.

"What do you mean you'd win again?" retorted Naga. "You can't use those words like that, not when comparing yourself to me! You're just lucky I have a soft spot in my heart for you, Lina Inverse."

"You sure it's your heart that's soft?" replied Lina, warming up. She hadn't had a good fight with Naga in so long...

But Zel was a spoil sport. "Ladies! Knock it off! Sheesh!"

Lina and Naga gave a nervous giggle each, then looked at each other and realised how silly it was, and broke out laughing aloud.

Eventually peace reigned again, and Lina aske Filia "So Filia, just curious, but have you made a decision yet? Or have we scared you off humanity for good?"

Filia smiled in a quiet sort of way. "There's no choice to make, Miss Lina. It was nice of the Silver Lord to offer, but I have to remain a dragon. I don't have a choice, not really..."

"Huh? W-what do you mean?" asked Lina in her turn.

"Well, I've been paying attention, Lina, and human love is special." She looked down and sighed. "Well not that dragon love isn't special too, but you find someone who is compatible, and that means they've lived a whole lifetime as a human and know how it is, and when you come together to share your lives, you each have a life to share. I don't know how to be a human. This is a false form I'm in right now. If I became a human I would have to learn from the begining and I should already know about being a human. I'm sure I can learn, but do I have enough time?"

She sighed. "Let's face it Lina. The only way I'll become a human is to die and be reborn. I mean, we have to be realistic here, there is no man for me. No man who could understand what it is like for his wife to have lived a long life already, and then to have become something she wasn't born as. No man who would understand my becoming a human and bearing little Valgaav. It is a beautiful dream, but it can't be. There is no man." She smiled sadly.

The others were silent. Lina frowned, there had to be a way, but, but...

Then a quiet voice spoke up. "Actually, there is... one man..."

Every head turned. Filia gave a gasp of shock. She slowly turned and looked at the speaker too, a strange mix of hope and fear on her face. Finally she nodded in amazement, and simply said "You..."

Xellos smiled. "Well, it's true isn't it? I know all about being alive a long time, then becoming a human. I too have to face the challenge of starting over from scratch. And because of my past Valgaav means something to me too, you know..."

Filia gulped, looking stressed. "I, I don't know what to do. You are right, you are absolutely right, but, in my wildest dreams... Me? And you? And yet..."

Lina laughed. "Well, then it's settled! A year and a day!"

"Huh?" everyone asked.

"That's how long it will be before Xellos and Filia are allowed to begin to make up their minds. Longer if they need it, but a good minimum. Now just listen, I'll tell you how it will work."

"Filia, you are being way too gloomy. I know, we just got back from hell, and it was a gloomy place, and, unlike for me and Zel here, nothing wonderful just happened. But it's okay, life isn't always like that. So here's your plan. Open another shop doing what you do best. Make and sell vases. Get established, and get a life. You'll feel better and be able to think more clearly. And you will open the shop here so we can protect you and also teach you about being a human."

Filia looked thoughtful for a minute. "Okay." she said "I will give it my best effort."

Lina smiled at her and turned to Xellos. A slightly wickeder expression came over her face. "You!" she said, looking at Xellos. "Filia also sells maces, but if she becomes a human she won't be able to use them the way she does now. She'll need a man to protect her, one who can fight. Plus, she'll do the vases, but she will need a partner to do the maces. Further more when she openes her tea room, she'll need a good baker to handle the cookies and such."

"Xellos, I'm going to send you to someone who will teach you how to fight, how to sell, and how to cook! Oh yes, and you'll learn all about being a human too. And when you are ready, you can come here and begin courting Filia. You are a human now, you are going to act like it. Even if you are the only man she could possibly marry, if you want her you'll have to prove it. Woo her Xellos. Woo her and win her."

Xellos gulped and broke into a light sweat. "Er, well, that's fine for all that Lina, but, who are you sending me to?"

A look of triumph came across Lina's face. "Someone who'll have your best interests at heart Xellos, oh yes. She'll have them very close to her heart indeed..."

Xellos was now sweating heavily. "Ah, ha... well that can only mean..."

"LUNA!" crowed Lina with gloating laugh.

"Priecisely..." gulped Xellos. "But will she do it?"

"Of course." replied Lina. "After all, if it wasn't for you she'd have never met Gourry and married him. They'll both want to thank you."

Lina then softened and went on. "And they'll protect you too Xellos. You are no longer a mazoku you know. I'm sure there will be some who want to revenge Beastmaster on you."

Xellos nodded, and his smile became one of gratitude. "I see your point Lina. I believe it was Luna who taught you to be human too, wasn't it?"

Lina glared, then looked guilty. "Touche..." she said quietly.

"Hasn't lost his wit has he?" asked Zel.

LIna smiled in spite of herself and hugged Zel. Soon to be HER Zel...

She then turned to Naga. "Your Majesty, how quickly can a couple get married in Seirune?" she asked.

"Depends on the couple." replied Naga, cryptically.

"You know what I mean..." said Lina with a wry look.

Naga smiled.

"You want to marry him?" she asked Lina.

Lina was puzzled. "Well, duh, yeah." she said, with the exaggerated air of one stating the obvious.

Naga ignored her and flipped her attention to Zel.

"You want to marry her?" she asked.

"Yup!" said a smiling Zel, who had an idea where this was going.

And he was right, Naga's next words were "You're married! The Queen has spoken! Was that fast enough Lina?"

"Huh?" said Lina, needing a minute for it to register.

Zel laughed, and earned an elbow in the ribs from Lina. In the past this would have left Lina in agony with a bruised elbow, but, to his surprise, among other feelings, it hurt him! "OOOF!" he went as he staggered back.

Then suddenly Lina brightened. "Well, hey! If we're married..." she said, turning to Zel.

"Hold on!" said Naga. "First we get dressed, and have supper, and get the full report." She paused and gave Lina a naughty wink. "OOOHOhohohohoho! THEN you can go and, hmmm, how to put this, oh yes, rescue Amilia from the pit."

Which is just what they did.

And, on another plain of existence, a Golden Lady was sitting snuggled into the lap of a Silver Lord. They chuckled as they watched the scene unfold. "Kids." she said, and gave him a kiss... 


End file.
